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LENTEN SERMONS 



EDITED BY 



/ 

REV. AUGUSTINE WIRTH,O.S.B 



FIRST EDITION. 



11*9(1* 



ET_iIZA.BET£i 7 KT. J". 



: 






Copyrighted, i8cfr," 

BY 

Rev. Augustine Wirth, O. S. B. 



The Library 
of Congress 

WASHINGTON 



no 



The Way of the Cross. 

First Course. 

PAGE 

1. Jesus is condemned to death 3 

2. Jesus takes the cross on his shoulders 9 

3. Jesus falls under the cross the first time 15 

4. Jesus meets his most afflicted Mother 21 

5. Simon of Cyrene assists Jesus in carrying the cross 26 

6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus 32 

7. Jesus falls under the cross the second time 38 

Second Course. 

1. Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem who wept over him 44 

2. Jesus falls under the cross the third time 50 

3. Jesus is stript of his garments 57 

4. Jesus is nailed to the cross 63 

5. Jesus dies on the cross 67 

6. Jesus is taken down from the cross and laid in the lap of Mary 74 

7. Jesus is laid in the tomb 79 

Third Course. 

1. Christ's sufferings lor the salvation ot mankind 89 

2. The mental sufferings of Christ 96 

3. The trial 104 

4. The denial of Peter Ill 

5. The repentance of Peter 117 

6. The scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, and the crucifixion of Christ. 123 

7. The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross 130 

Fourth Course. 

1. The washing of the Apostles' feet, Peter, Judas, and the questions of disciples 143 

2. The Garden of Gethsemane, the prayer, agony and bloody sweat of Christ, and 

the coming of the Angel 151 

3. Judas in ihe garden, the apprehension of Jesus Annas, the blow, Caiphas 158 

4. The interior sufferings of Christ, Peter's denial, Pilate, the despair of Judas, Herod, 

Barabbas 166 

5. The scourging, the crowning of Christ with thorns, and the derision 172 

6. Ecce homo, the sentence of death, the way of the cross from Jerusalem to Calvary. 179 

7. The crucifixion, the Seven Last Words, the death of Christ 187 

Skeleton Sermons on the Seven Last Words. 

Fifth Course. 

1. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do 199 

2. This day thou shalt be with me in paradise 202 

3. Woman, behold thy son. Son, behold thy mother 205 

4. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? 208 

5. I thirst 210 

6. It is consummated 214 

7. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit ^.. 218 



From Mount Olivet to Mount Calvary. 

Sixth Course. 

1. Jesus on Mount Olivet 223 

2. Jesus betrayed by Judas, apprehended, and abandoned by his disciples 230 

3. Jesus before the high council of the Jews 236 

4. Jesus before Pilate and Herod 243 

5. Jesus sentenced to be crucified 249 

6. Jesus carries the cross and is crucified thereon 255 

7. Good Friday 260 

Man's Relation to God. 

Seventh Course. 

1. Venial sin . . 267 

2. Mortal sin 273 

3. The habit of sin 278 

4. Final Impenitence 284 

5. Repentance 290 

6. God's mercy to the sinner 296 

7. The threefold sacrifice of Christ 301 

The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross. 

Eighth Course. 

1. The first word 311 

2. The second word 317 

3. The third word 324 

4. The fourth word 331 

5. The fifth word 337 

6. The sixth word 343 

7. The seventh word 349 

Questions of the Soul. 

Ninth Course. 

1. What have you done? 357 

2. What awaits you ? 362 

3. Is there no relief? 367 

4. How to begin ? 372 

5. Will you delay ? 377 

6. How glad you will be ? 383 

7. The dereliction of Jesus upon the cross 387 



ERRATA. 

Page 260, fourteenth line from top: consummate should be consummated. 
' 267, second line from top: thoughts should be thought. 
' 275, seventeenth line from top: patieat should be patient 
' 277, eleventh line from bottom: Belchazzar should be Baltassar. 
' 288, eighteenth line from bottom, read: harder than rock. 

293, sixteenth line from bottom: is should be it. 
' 300, ninth line from bottom: after good should be after a good. 

304, tenth line from bottom: fever should be fervor. 
' 307, third line from top, read; you number those gaping wounds. 



THE FOURTEEN STATIONS 

OF 

THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 



FIRST AND SECOND COURSE. 



SEVEN SERMONS FOR EACH COURSE. 



The Way of ihe Cross. 



FIRST STATION. 



JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH. 

" Then Pilate delivered him to them to be crucified." — -John ip : 16. 

Amongst the many lovely devotions which, like fair flowers, have 
sprung up in our holy Church, and constantly diffuse their fragrance 
throughout the vast garden of that tender mother, is one which most 
earnestly commends itself to the consideration of all who would fain linger 
by the side of the suffering Saviour, as he painfully wends his way up Cal- 
vary's steep ascent. This is the devotion of the "Way of the Cross" 
'which originated in the following manner: 

When but a few centuries had elapsed since the precious blood of our 
Redeemer was shed for us — his beloved children — pious Christians from 
all parts of the known world made pilgrimages to Jerusalem there to visit 
the holy places, and to retrace the path rendered sacred to us by the foot- 
prints of our divine Saviour, as he bent beneath the weight of his heavy 
cross. 

After some time pictures representing the different scenes in the Passion 
were erected at certain distances from each other along this "Way of the 
Cross," and, before each, the faithful would pause for awhile in wrapt 
meditation upon the dolorous mystery which the picture so vividly 
brought to their minds. When, at a later period, the Saracens seized upon 
the Holy Land, and it was no longer possible to visit the places, so hallowed 
by the sufferings of a loving Saviour, the Christians, with the approbation 
of the Popes, erected station pictures at other places also, to afford the 
faithful a means of meditating on the Passion of Christ, and the first who 
did this were the Franciscans. 

The deep hold which the devotion had taken upon the hearts of all fer- 
vent Catholics was soon manifested in the rapid and general diffusion^ and 
there are very few churches to-day, upon the walls of which are not found 
pictures, commemorative of the sorrowful "Way of the Cross." Those who 
devoutly visited the stations of the Way of the Cross, gained many indul- 
gences. The Popes Innocent XI. and XII., and Benedict XIII., granted 
these indulgences also to all those who visit the Stations erected by the 
Franciscans, and there devoutly venerate the bitter Passion and death of 
Christ. That you may perform the devotion of the Way of the Cross in 
a profitable manner, I shall give you a brief explanation on each of the 



4 First Station. 

fourteen stations. To-day we will represent to ourselves in the spirit of the 
First Station, which bears the inscription: "Jesus is condemned to death," 
and consider two reasons why he was condemned to death, namely: 

I. The human. fear of Pontius Pilate, and 
II. The inconstancy of the Jewish people. 

11 We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. Because by the holy 
cross thou hast redeemed the world." 

Part I. 

Accompanied by his disciples our Blessed Lord repaired to Mount Olivet 
in the evening of Holy Thursday to begin his Passion, and there, in an 
agony, the bitterness of which it were indeed a vain attempt to depict, he 
was bathed in a bloody sweat and apprehended by his relentless foes. 
Like a criminal, deserving of death, he was led first to Annas where a 
rude servant dared to strike his divine and holy face, then to Caiphas 
where he was declared guilty of death. Then during the whole night he 
was so shockingly insulted and maltreated, that "St. Jerome says: "The 
mockery and insult which were inflicted on Jesus during that night were so 
great that their enormity shall only be known on the day of judgment.'' 
When after a night of such humiliation and suffering, day dawned, 
our Good Friday, the Jews brought Jesus before Pilate, that he might con- 
demn him to death : Let us now consider : 

I . The human fear of Pilate which caused him to condemn Christ to 
death. Pilate before very long was firmly convinced that in the suffering 
Jesus he beheld an innocent victim, and, having still a due regard for what 
was right and just, he was willing to set him free. Having examined our 
Lord, he appeared before the Jews, and said to them : "I find no cause 
in this man." — Luke 23 : 14, but the Jews, so far from being satisfied with 
this assurrance, insisted with unrelenting fury upon his death. Then 
Pilate had recourse to a most cruel means to save Jesus. "I will chastise 
him therefore and release him." — Luke 23 : 16. He thought that by apply- 
ing the stinging lash to the tender flesh of our Saviour, the rage of the Jews 
would be appeased. Jesus therefore was scourged. This punishment, 
which was meted out by the Romans only upon slaves, and the vilest of 
malefactors was horrible, and many died while the torturers pursued their 
task. Picture to yourselves, O Christians ! from six to eight men, human 
beings indeed, but with hearts destitute of one trace of humanity, who 
were permitted to exercise their cruel will against the Saviour of the world ! 
They rudely tore off his clothing, bound him with ropes to a column, and 
two by two, relieved each other in the fiendish work. By this terrible 



The Way of the Cross. 5 

ilagellation at which rods, whips and straps were mercilessly used, the 
body of Jesus was so lacerated that it appeared like one quivering wound. 
The prophet who in spirit saw Jesus thus mangled says of him : "From 
the sole of the foot unto the top of [the head there is no soundness 
therein, wounds and bruises and swelling sores, they are not bound up, 
nor dressed, nor fomented with oil." — Is. 1 : 6, 

After this painful scourging, the soldiers brought thorns and wove them 
into a crown, which they placed on the head of Christ, and O! what 
intolerable anguish thrilled through every nerve of our dear Saviour as 
they pressed those sharp points deep into that sacred head. And — O ! 
refinement of malice ! — they decked him out in a purple mantle, placed a 
reed in his hand and most shamefully mocked at our Lord. Thus bruised, 
reviled and maltreated, they again led him before Pilate who felt even his 
pagan heart thrill with pity to its very depths. O ! pitiful sight ! Pilate 
exclaimed " Ecce Homo I " Behold the man ! — John 19:5. He imagined 
that the Jews would abandon their design, and no longer seek his death, 
but alas, he was deceived — he had not measured their hatred of Christ. 
' ' Crucify him ! Crucify him ! " was the cry sent up from their dark, blood- 
thirsty hearts. Crucify him ! Crucify him ! they cried out — John 19:5; but 
Pilate made yet another attempt. A custom prevailed amongst the Jews which 
permitted them to liberate a malefactor, after he had been seized by the 
law, and they had the privilege of releasing whom they chose at Easter. 
Availing himself of this opportunity he led before them Bar abbas, a crimi- 
nal whose soul was stained with the guilt of robbery and murder. He 
could not think otherwise than that, when he asked them which of the 
two should be set free, their choice would be the innocent Jesus. "Whom 
will you that I release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?" 
(Matt. 27 : 17.) Ah ! Pilate had not fathomed the depth of their hatred 
for Christ. The Jews clamored loudly that Barabbas should be saved. 
Barabbas, whose hand was red with the blood of his fellow-man, preferred 
before Jesus ! Behold the depths to which human fear caused the 
wretched Pilate to fall ! His craven spirit led him to fear that the Jews 
would denounce him to the Roman emperor, and that he would lose his 
■office, his dignity, and it might be, his life. To avert such a danger he 
condemned innocence to death ! Of what atrocious injustice was he guilty, 
and all through human fear — Fear of man ! 

2. The human fear of Christians which is the cause of the commission 
of so many sins in our days. For the same reason one hesitates to call the 
attention of a friend or an acquaintance to his faults or admonish him to 
the pursuit of a better life. For this reason some even dare not go fre- 
quently to confession or receive often the precious body and blood of our 
Lord ; they shrink from visiting Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament 
of the Altar, and are afraid to lead a retired — a holy life. They fear the 



6 First Station. 

mocking smile and covert sneers of some friends who are wholly engrossed 
with the world, and human respect conquers again. For this reason 
instead of condemning discourses which violate religion, wound fraternal 
charity and put chastity itself to the blush, many dare not speak the word 
which might lead the conversation into another strain, and perhaps save 
a soul from perdition. It is human fear and human respect that frus- 
trate unnumbered conversions. How many sinners are held captive in the 
bonds of sin through human fear; how many infidels and heretics are 
deterred from embracing the true faith. Should they renounce their errors 
and be converted, they would have to make it evident to the world by a 
change of life, and they recoil from encountering its sneers. They must 
give up some sinful companionship, or perhaps sever the ties of kindred 
and friendship, and the sacrifice seems too great in their eyes. O ! how 
much good does human fear prevent, — how much evil does it cause ! 

Guard against nothing so much as against human fear. " Be not afraid 
of them that kill the body, and after that have no power that they can do 
* * * fear ye him who after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell." — 
Luke 12, 4, 5. Make a firm resolution never through human fear to do> 
or to omit what would burden your conscience and violate the command- 
ments of God. When it tempts you to sin think of Pilate who was led to 
condemn the Son of God to death, and thus won eternal damnation for 
his soul. Take courage, and let your hearts echo the words of the wise 
man: "He that fear eth man shall quickly fall; he that trusted in the 
Lord shall be set on high." — Prov. 29 : 25. 

Part II. 

Another reason why Christ was condemned to death was the inconstancy 
and fickleness of the Jewish people. 

1. How incredible is the inconstancy of this people ! Jesus was always a 
favorite of the people ; wherever he went great multitudes accompanied 
him ; they listened with pleasure to his words and went so far in their 
enthusiasm as to proclaim him king on several occasions. The ambitious 
Scribes and Pharisees were right when, fired with indignation they 
exclaimed: "Do you see that we prevail nothing? Behold, the whole world 
is gone after him." — John 12: 19. And with what love, what venera- 
tion, what devotion, did they not regard him but a few short days before 
his death. The eager throng hastened forth to meet him, spread their 
garments in his path, and with palm branches waving aloft, were over- 
joyed to form the "Guard of Honor" of our Lord. Each tried to 
surpass the other in their marks of love and attention, and as they beheld 
the beautiful countenance of the Saviour, they cried out in their enthu- 



The, Way of the Cross. 7 

siasm : " Hosanna to the Son of David ! Blessed is he that cometh in 
the name of the Lord ! " (Matt. 21:9.) A few days have passed, and 
what an incomprehensible change has that little time wrought in the hearts 
of these perverse children of men ! They are entirely blinded, they know 
their Redeemer no longer, and deadly hate reigns in place of their devo- 
tion and love. Jesus stands before Pilate ; the high-priests, Scribes and 
Pharisees demand his death and allege a multitude of false accusations 
and calumnies against him ; they say that he is a false teacher, a dema- 
gogue, a rebel, who refuses obedience to Caesar, a malefactor guilty of 
death. Pilate washes his hands with the solemn declaration: "I am 
innocent of the blood of this just man, look you to it," and the people 
answering cry : " His blood be upon us, and upon our children!" — 
Matt. 27 : 24, 29. Can anything more detestable, more abhorrent, more 
damnable than this inconstancy of the Jews be conceived ! Have they 
not a thousand times deserved the punishments which God has visited 
upon them ? 

2. But how great is also the inconstancy of many Christians ! Let us call 
to mind some particular season of grace, e. g., a mission, a Jubilee. How 
many showed themselves the most fervent penitents. They avoided evil 
occasions, gave up their sinful familiarities with persons of the opposite 
sex, no longer visited the houses and societies in which they had so griev- 
ously offended God, they renounced impurity, gave up midnight revels, 
and firmly turned from the demon of drink. They no longer spent time 
and money at the gameing table, curses and blasphemies were no more 
heard from their lips. Obscene words were abandoned, they became 
reconciled with their enemies, avoided all kinds of injustice, and carefully 
guarded their hearts against sin. At the same time they were scrupulously 
observing their religious duties, they prayed, listened to the word of God 
and frequently received the Sacraments. Thus piously and penitently 
many Christians lived a longer or shorter time ago. How do they live 
now ? Ah, they have returned to their old ways. The good resolutions 
which they made are forgotten, the zeal for penance has disappeared, 
frivolity and forgetfulness of God have again taken possession of their 
hearts. They again entertain sinful familiarities, frequent wicked houses 
and societies, drink, gamble, curse, swear, blaspheme, commit impurity, 
cheat, steal, in short, again commit the old sins and walk in the ways of 
vice. I need hardly say. that they have lost all love for exercises of devotion 
and especially that they will not hear of the reception of the Sacraments. 
In what great danger is the salvation of such inconstant, wavering 
Christians ! There is alas ! every reason to fear that they will share the 
doom of the fickle-minded Jews who were rejected, and forsaken by the 
Lord. An inconstant Christian is in far greater danger of eternal fire 
than the sinner whose whole life has cried out to the Lord, "1 will 



8 First Station. 

not serve." An unchaste man may be moved, like David, who did 
penance for his adultery. A publican may renounce his injustices, like 
Zachaeus, who restored fourfold the goods he had unjustly acquired 
and gave the half of all that he possessed to the poor. People who are 
sunk in the mire of iniquity can be converted like Mary Magdalene who 
bewailed her sins at the feet of Jesus. But of an Achab, who having 
been warned by Elias, did penance in sackcloth and ashes, and afterwards 
went to Bethel and sacrificed to Baal — of a Zedekias, who asked to know 
the will of the Lord of the Prophet Jeremiah, and shortly afterwards 
relapsed into his former blindness — of a Saul who, but a little while after 
he had known and repented of his injustice to David, persecuted him 
again and sought his life — of these we do not read that they were ever 
finally and truly converted, and their souls saved from the fires of hell. 
The words of St. Peter apply to such inconstant Christians : "If having 
fled from the pollution of the world through the knowledge of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ, being again entangled in them, they are over- 
come; their latter state is become unto them worse than the former. For 
it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice, than, 
after they have known it, to turn back from thy holy commandment, 
which was delivered to them." — 2 Pet. 2: 20, 21. And Christ himself 
says: •' No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit 
for the kingdom of God." — Luke 9: 62. Supported by these divine 
words, St. Bernard also says: "Of those who after their conversion 
relapse into the old sins, become ungrateful for the divine grace received, 
and after laying hands to the plow, being of a lukewarm and carnal dispo- 
sition, relapse, or after having known the truth, publicly apostatize and 
enter again upon the way of sin — of these you will find but few who after 
such a relapse return to the right path. 

PERORATION. 

What resolution should we make to-day at the first Station ? Certainly 
this: Never to allow human fear and inconstancy to be our guides. Pilate 
acted contrary to his better knowledge and conscience in condemning Jesus 
to death. He did it from human fear. Let not the fear of man overcome 
us. Let us not permit human respect to gain the ascendency in our hearts. 
Let us crush it, trample upon it, and resolve to die rather than yield to its 
power; to incur the hatred of the world, and shed our blood rather than 
offend our loving Saviour. Let us detest the inconstancy of the Jews. 
Let us not be reeds, driven about by every wind, but guard against every 
relapse into sin. He only will receive the crown who perseveres unto the 
end. Let us resolve to be constant in the service of God, and let us 
bewail our weakness and unfaithfulness with penitential tears, crying out: 
"Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us." Amen. 



Second Station. 



SECOND STATION. 



JESUS TAKES THE CROSS UPON HIS SHOULDERS. 

1 ' l And they took Jesus, and led him forth, and bearing his own cross, he went 
forth to that place which is called Calvary. — John 19: 16, 17. 

The feeling of pity which, for a time, touched the heart of the Roman 
Governor at the sight of the suffering Saviour was as transitory as it was 
futile, — and Pontius Pilate, yielding, through human fear, to the demands 
of the Jews, has condemned Jesus to the death of the cross. The prepar- 
ations for the Crucifixion are all made; carpenters hew a long and heavy 
cross and carry it before the Governor's palace, others bring nails, ropes, 
hammers, ladders and various things requisite for its completion. Rushing 
towards our Saviour in mad haste the servants and soldiers tear off the 
purple mantle, with which in bitter mockery, they had decked him, and 
rudely clothe him in his own garments again. That they might the better 
drag him to death they put a rope about his loins, and commanded him 
to take the cross upon his shoulders. 

Second Station. Jesus takes the cross upon his shoulders. To this mys- 
tery of the Passion we shall to-day direct our attention and consider that 
Jesus took the cross upon his shoulders and carried it, 

I. With patience; and 
II. With joy. 

Part I. 

1. Jesus Christ takes the cross upon his shoulders and carries it with 
patience, although it is in itself very heavy, as well as because of the sins of 
the world. 

(a) The cross was very heavy in itself It had been put together in 
haste of rude, hewed wood; its perpendicular beam measured, as St. 
Bonaventure and others report, fifteen feet, and the cross beam, eight feet; 
it was a load burdensome enough for any strong, robust man. How 
heavy, then, must it have been for the Redeemer, already weakened by the 
loss of so much blood ! Under the most cruel and inhuman treatment he 
had been dragged from one place to another, and not a minute's rest had 



io The Way of the Cross. 

been allowed him during the preceding night ; the loss of blood and the 
pains of his cruel flagellation had completely exhausted him ; moreover, 
the terrible strokes of the scourging had so bruised and lacerated his back 
and shoulders, that the least pressure caused him the most intense pains. 
From this it is evident, what a heavy load the cross must have been for 
our divine Saviour, and what violent pain he must have experienced when, 
it was laid thereupon. 

(b) But the sins of the world rendered the cross still heavier. There are 
living upon the earth over a hundred millions of men, who on an 
average die within the space of thirty years, thereby making room for as 
many and even more descendants. Though the earth was not as much 
populated before the coming of Christ, as it is at the present day, still we 
may safely say that the number of men who have lived from the beginning 
of the world until now surpasses hundreds of millions, and that, until 
" time shall be no more," an equally great throng shall live and die. Let 
us assume something entirely different from the actual state of affairs — 
that every man, during every day, offends his Creator by only one sin, 
and in about thirty years, he will have been guilty of ten thousand sins ! 
These sins may be venial — they may be mortal — but ten thousand will be 
the number they will reach ! Now if we compute this number of sins for 
all men that have ever lived from the beginning of the world, and shall 
live to the end of time, we obtain a number of sins, which no longer 
amounts to millions and billions, and of which we can no longer form an 
idea, because of the immense multitude. Behold all these sins together 
with the cross were laid upon his shoulders, and Jesus, the Lamb of God, 
was compelled to take them and carry them with the cross, Therefore St. 
Peter writes : "Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the 
tree, that we being dead to sin should live to justice." — i. Pet. 2 : 24. 
Now, if so many of the Saints were so deeply grieved at the sins which are 
committed in the world, who can comprehend the sorrow which Jesus 
experienced, when he saw the cross, laden with so many sins, lying before 
him ? And who will be able to describe his consternation and terror, 
when he took this terrible load upon his shoulders ! 

(c) Nevertheless he takes the cross upon his shoulders with patience. He 
offers himself as a sacrifice to his heavenly Father with the greatest willing- 
ness, and heeding not the pain and smarting of his lacerated shoulders, 
he patiently takes up the cross. He does it with joy, he is eager to carry it 
to Calvary that he might point out to us the dolorous "Way of the Cross." 
The prophet Isaiah (53: 7) had said of him: "He was offered 
because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth : he shall be 
led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his 
shearer, and he shall not open his mouth." His body writhes under the 



Second Station. ii 

terrible load, and all his members tremble, but he complains not, he 
laments not, but prays even now as on Mount Olivet : " Father, not my 
will, but thine be done." — Luke 22 : 42. 

2. We too, must carry our cross with patience. And why? Since the 
trail of the serpent penetrated the fair garden of Eden, and sin cast its 
shadow o'er its beautiful groves, the earth has resembled one vast cemetery 
where tombstones meet our eye wheresoever we turn, and crosses perpetu- 
ally arise. Poverty and destitution, sickness and pain, oppression, perse- 
cution, and a thousand other spiritual and corporal calamities afflict men, 
force from them heavy sighs, and cause tears unceasingly to flow from 
their eyes. Job was right in saying : " Man born of a woman, living for 
a short time, is filled with many miseries." — Job 14 : 1. 

(a) Because it is only when the cross is borne in patience that it is meri- 
torious. Simply to carry the cross of itself does not lead to heaven, its 
value depends upon the patience with which it is borne. There is no 
doubt but that many who had heavy crosses on earth are now in hell, their 
cross afforded them no blessing because they did not carry it with patience 
and resignation to the will of God. St. Gregory says, that as patience in 
suffering is a sign of election, impatience is a mark of condemnation. 
And Christ himself says: "In your patience you shall possess your 
souls." — Luke 21 : 19. Recognizing, as we do, this truth, O Christians, 
is it not utterly opposed to every dictate of reason for us to rebel against 
carrying the cross ? Not only does it avail nothing in removing its weight 
from our shoulders but we lose all the merit that a sweet and gentle 
patience would have gained for us, for heaven. Let us never forget that 
the patience with which we carry the cross upon earth turns to bright gems 
for our heavenly crown, and the greater the patience, the more brightly 
those gems will glitter therein. 

(b) Because Christ has carried his most heavy cross with the most perfect 
patience. Some ancient chronicle has handed down the story of a 
noble maiden, over whose head but a few sunny years had passed, when 
she felt her heart drawn to a more intimate union with God, and resolved 
to serve him in one of the most austere Orders of the Church. To try her 
vocation the Superioress gave her a graphic description of all she would 
have to undergo, conducted her in spirit to all the apartments of the com- 
munity, and showed her only such things as were calculated to terrify 
human sensuality. The maiden, who seemed deeply impressed, and 
visibly agitated at the communication of the holy Religious, remained 
silent. " My daughter," said the sister, "you do not answer." "I have 
but one question to ask, " replied the undaunted postulant. "Are there 
crucifixes in the convent?" "0! surely, my child; turn your eyes 



12 The Way of the Cross. 

whithersoever you will, they cannot fail to rest upon that reminder of 
our Saviour's immeasurable love." O! then," replied the fervent girl, 
" what more could I ask ? Should my courage seem to falter, let me but 
glance at the image of my crucified Saviour, and that look will increase it 
a thousand fold." My brethren, crucifixes are not wanting to us, faith 
and devotion have placed them everywhere for our veneration. When a 
heavy cross presses upon you, follow the example of this ardent soul, cast 
a look upon your crucified Redeemer, and contemplate the unconquerable 
patience with which Jesus carried his cross ; and you will most certainly 
be encouraged to carry yours with patience, since for love of you 
Christ bore a far heavier one. Should we be called upon to endure oppro- 
brium or insult, let us think of the scorn, the ignominy, the outrages 
which Jesus suffered for love of us, and we will accept it not only 
patiently, but with joy. That which at first wounded our hearts like sharp 
thorns will diffuse the fragrance of roses for us, so powerful is one thought 
of the cross. 

Part II. 

When Jesus saw the cross he stretched out his hands streaming with blood, 
he embraced it affectionately, kissed it, and with joy took it upon his shoulders. 

I. When our dear Saviour took the cross upon himself, why did he accept 
the heavy burden not only with patience, but with a holy joy, animating his 
divine and adorable heart? He was animated solely by the love which burned 
in that heart for the human race, and by the mercy which he longed to 
exercise upon man. The sole heritage of our first parents was sin. 
Through that sin with which we entered the world, and with the actual 
sins which, when we attained the use of reason, we committed ourselves ; 
we were plunged into an abyss of misery from which it seemed impossible 
to emerge. Deprived of sanctifying grace, we languished in the servitude 
of the devil, heaven was closed against us, and endless misery seemed 
our portion forever. What rendered our lot still more deplorable was 
the impossibility of raising ourselves from our fall by our own exertions 
and of again obtaining God's love, grace and friendship. Left to our- 
selves, nothing remained for us but to live and die in the state of disgrace 
and sin and to be cast away forever. Jesus knew our misery and our 
inability to help ourselves, and having compassion on us, he resolved to 
redeem us. Since according to the divine decree the work of redemption 
could not be accomplished except by his death on the cross, his heart 
rejoiced when he saw before him the instrument of our redemption. He 
did not think of the weight of the cross, nor of the inexpressible pains in 
which he would die ; his merciful love had before his eyes only the precious 
fruits, which would ripen for us upon it, therefore, with the greatest desire 



Second Station. 13 

he stretched out his hands streaming with blood, embraced it, kissed it 
and with joy took it upon his mangled and bleeding shoulders. 

2. O that we also, imitating Jesus, would take up our cross and carry it 
not only with patience but also with joy ! Why ? 

{a) Because the cross disengages and detaches our hearts from the 
world, and directs our thoughts to eternal goods. Take for example, a sick 
person, lying wearily upon his bed of pain, scarcely able to move his 
aching limbs, or, when fever seizes him, tossing restlessly from side to side, 
unable to find any ease. What a change takes place in him ! The glow 
that once illumined life's pathway has faded, — riches and earthly goods 
avail him not, for he has no power to enjoy. He recalls the sea of 
pleasure into which he once plunged, and disgust takes possession of his 
soul — he now believes that Solomon rightly termed terrestrial things 
"vanity and affliction of spirit." He is utterly indifferent and sad. Even 
the passions, under whose fierce sway he lived, lose their power and die 
under the pressure of the cross. What a change takes place in him ! That 
fire of revenge which flamed in the breast of that angry man when he 
walked forth in the full vigor of health and strength dies away, and his 
trembling hand readily clasps the hand of one whom he once hated for 
some real or fancied wrong, but whom he now welcomes as a friend. 
The proud man, who, before the withering blight of a sudden illness laid him 
low, held himself, in arrogance, far above other men, now feels the power 
of one who holds him in "the hollow of his hand," and humbles himself 
before the Lord. The unchaste man who has dared to ignore that his soul has 
been made in the image and likeness of God, who was steeped in the mire 
of unholy pleasures, now humbles himself under the heavy weight of the 
cross, and even the unbeliever, beneath its shadow, turns to God, crying 
out, "I believe, Lord ! O! help thou my unbelief!" Thus the cross is 
to innumerable sinners and worldly people the means of the salvation of 
their souls. 

(3) Because the cross confirms us in virtue. The more strokes of the 
hammer you give to the nail, the more deeply it sinks into the wood, and 
the more firmly it is imbedded therein, the more enduring will be its hold, 
so too, the more keenly a pious Christian has, with Jesus, to bear and 
suffer, the more thoroughly will his virtue be confirmed. Let us only think 
of ourselves. How soon does the fervor of our piety diminish, how speedily 
our zeal for virtue disappear, how lukewarm and tepid we become when 
prosperity attends on all we undertake, and life seems one long summer 
day undimmed by sorrow, grief, disease or care ! It is, therefore, very 
salutary, nay, often necessary, that tribulations come upon us from time 
to time. Thereby we are moved, the soul which has grown languid is 



14 The Way of the Cross. 

animated anew, and fidelity to God takes a deeper root in our heart. 
Moreover the cross is especially calculated to detach us from creatures 
which could weaken our constancy, it awakens and preserves within us a 
salutary diffidence in ourselves, compels us to watch and pray, and to 
employ other necessary and useful means for preserving God's grace in 
our heart. In general the cross affords an opportunity for the practice 
and increase of many Christian virtues. In sufferings and afflictions faith 
becomes more living, more steadfast, love more ardent, devotion more 
fervent, humility and resignation cast their roots deep, deep into the 
inmost recesses of our souls, and produce fruits far more precious 
and rare. 

(c) Because the cross increases our glory in heaven. Since, like fire, it 
purines us from the dross of sin and revives our fervor in virtue, and since 
it extirpates self-love and inflames within us the love of God, it enables us 
to enrich ourselves with merits in this life, and to gain hereafter a 
great reward. Hence, St. Gregory the Great says : ' ' If an innocent 
man is punished with scourges, the treasure of his merits is increased by 
his patience. The soul of the elect, indeed, withers now, but it becomes 
green hereafter in the exultation of beatitude. " 

(d) Finally, because the Saints have given us the most beautiful example in 
carrying their cross. Far from rejecting the cross, they accepted it with the 
greatest willingness from the hand of God, and carried it with a joyful 
heart. Thus, "the Apostles went from the presence of the council 
rejoicing, that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name 
of Jesus." — Acts 5:41. St. Teresa used to say : "Lord, let me suffer or 
die ;" and St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi's prayer was "Let me suffer and 
not die." St. Francis ofAssisium called pains and sickness his brothers and 
sisters, poverty and contempt, his dearest daughters. When St. Francis 
Xavier was in Lisbon, he was grieved because everything went according 
to his desires and wishes, and he was anxious lest he might fall from the 
state of grace, if freed from every cross. Whenever a calamity befel him, 
he used to exclaim : "Yet more O ! Lord, yet more ! " Often in tribula- 
tions he prayed : "Lord, take not this cross from me, unless you send 
one far more bitter to take its place." Whenever in their sufferings and 
tribulations the Saints were tempted by a want of faith, they at once con- 
soled themselves with the words of the Apostle: "The present tribulation, 
which is momentary and light, worketh for us above measure exceedingly 
an eternal weight of glory." — 2. Cor. 4 : 17. 

PERORATION. 

This should be for us also an inexhaustible source of comfort and con- 
solation in every tribulation and difficulty. Our cross weighs upon us 



Third Station. 15 

■onlv for a time, but the reward which follows will be eternal. Let us look 
upon Jesus ; heavy was the cross which he carried ; he carries it no 
longer, it glitters in his hand as an emblem of victory over death and hell, 
and has acquired for his humanity the glory of heaven. What a happiness 
for us, if, like Jesus, we carry our cross during the short time of our 
earthly pilgrimage, like him we shall also be so glorified in heaven. Let 
us, then, to-day, prostrate ourselves again before Jesus in the Second 
Station of the Way of the Cross, and pray with heart and lips : How 
could I be a friend of Christ if I am an enemy of the cross ? O dear, O 
precious cross ! I embrace thee, I kiss thee, I joyfully accept thee from 
the hand of God. Far be it from me to glory in anything but the cross. 
By it the world shall be crucified to me, and I to the world, that I may 
belong to thee, O Jesus, to thee alone, to thee entirely — to thee completely, 
to thee with my whole heart and soul ! Amen. 



THIRD STATION. 

JESUS FALLS BENEATH THE CROSS THE FIRST TIME. 

il Have mercy on me, God, for man has trodden me under /oof." 

—Ps. 55 : 1. 

The fiat of death has gone forth, and Jesus, taking the heavy burden of 
the cross upon those mangled shoulders, still suffering from the cruel 
scourging they had undergone, goes forth to the place of execution pre- 
pared to shed his precious blood for us in such anguish as had never 
before been known in the world. On his way to death a rude throng of 
soldiers close around him, they torment him with their sharp swords and 
huge clubs, and a vast crowd of turbulent human beings precede and 
follow him to Mount Calvary. Many of the most prominent among the 
Jews, — many priests, scribes, and pharisees formed part of the multitude 
which pressed around the Saviour, as he painfully struggled on to the 
mount. They followed Jesus as he walked wearily on, but not to aid or com- 
fort him in his sorrow. No ! they strove rather to mock him — to insult — to 
revile. Their faces indicate the venom which embitters their hearts, as 
they cry out in tones of exultant joy : " At last he is in our power, never 
more to escape, for before long we shall see him die on the cross." Let 
us also accompany this mournful train, and stopping at the Third Station 
consider how Jesus falls beneath the cross the first time. Why did 
Jesus fall so painfully ? For two reasons. 



1 6 The Way of the Cross. 

I. Because of the superabundance of his suffering, which we have 
inflicted upon him by our sins; 

II. Because of the unfruitfulness of his Passion, in regard to those 
sinners who will not desist from their sins, 

Part I. 

As the first reason, why Christ on his way to death had so painful a fall, 
we may assume the superabundance of suffering which we have inflicted 
upon him. The suffering of Jesus was twofold. 

i. Interior. 

(a) The martyrs in the midst of all their torture enjoyed divine conso- 
lation; God sustained them in their sufferings, consoled and strengthened 
them. It was this divine assistance which gave unto them a courage 
which no human aid could give, upheld them as the horrid instruments of 
torture were displayed before them, and enabled them even to regard 
with holy joy. It was this which sent them exultantly forth to death, as if 
they were going to a nuptial banquet, and caused them to bear the most cruel 
tortures in a manner that astonished even their executioners. It was this 
aid which bade them look calmly upon the sword, the rack, the cruel 
wheel, and smile at the savage beasts thirsting for blood, let loose by 
savage men. It was this divine consolation which enabled the holy deacon 
Lawrence, when the red hot bars of the gridiron caused him the most 
intense pain, to jest and say with a smile, as he lay helplessly there : "I 
am roasted sufficiently, take O ! tyrant and eat. " But it was not thus with 
Christ, when loaded with the cross he went to Calvary to die for us. The 
heavenly Father looked upon him as a victim who, because he had taken 
upon himself the guilt of sin, deserved punishment; he therefore withdrew 
all consolation from his humanity, so that he could even now exclaim, as 
afterwards on the cross : ' ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
me." — Matt, 27 : 46. Neither did he receive any consolation from man 
on his difficult way of the cross. The disciples whom he loved had aban- 
doned him, the people, to whom he had done untold good, had forgotten 
his many benefits, and even wished for his death, and the proud leaders 
among the Jews, had sworn inveterate and perpetual enmity to him. 
Therefore Christ could truly say with David : ' " I looked for one that 
would grieve together with me, but there was none; and for one that 
would comfort me, and I found none." — Ps. 68 : 21. Now, who can 
comprehend what the most Sacred Heart of Jesus suffered in being thus 
deprived of all consolation, and forsaken by God and man on his way to 
death, amid such inexpressible bodily pains ! yes, when he was mocked, 



Third Station. if 

blasphemed, insulted, and abused by his enemies! Can a greater affliction 
be imagined ? Can we wonder that, exhausted and powerless, he fell to 
the ground beneath the load of the cross ? 

(b) This interior suffering, this utter abandonment and dereliction, our 
dear Lord wished to take upon himself for the atonement of our sins, 
whereby God is offended in so many ways. But if, in their reckless folly, men 
neglect to avail themselves of the merits of Christ, so superabundantly 
presented to them — if they persistently refuse to give up their evil ways, and 
year after year go on in this impenitent way — to them shall be meted 
out some portion of that anguish of soul and utter abandonment which 
crushed Jesus to the earth on his way to the cross. When they come to die, 
they will call for their former friends and companions of sin, and implore 
their help, but these will turn away with indifference, or it may be with a 
shudder at the near presence of death, and abandon them to their desolation 
of soul. They will seek consolation of the world, but the world will refuse 
them its caresses, and will do nothing for their relief. They will, perhaps, 
turn to God, but alas ! may we not fear with too much reason, that those 
menacing words of the Holy Ghost will find a verification equally terrible 
and just; — that to them will be said: "Because I called, and you 
refused : I stretched out my hand; and there was none that regarded. You 
have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my reprehensions. I 
also will laugh in your destruction; and I will mock when that shall come 
to you which you feared." — Prov. i : 24, 25. Consider this unhappy end 
of the impenitent sinner. O ! try to escape the fearful fate by a thorough 
and immediate amendment of life. 

2. Exterior. 

(a) When criminals are in prison; or already condemned to death, they 
are generally treated with mildness and consideration. Just the reverse 
was the case with Christ. Scarce had the basest treachery betrayed him 
into the hands of his enemies than he is forced to submit to one kind of 
ill-treatment after another, he is dragged before Annas, Caiphas, Pilate, and 
Herod, buffetted, scourged most inhumanly, a crown of thorns is put on 
his head, and during the whole night from Holy Thursday to Good 
Friday they allow him not a moment's repose. They never grow tired of 
mocking, blaspheming and tormenting him. And yet in the face of such 
multiplied, such agonizing sufferings, after an exhaustion so entire, that 
life seemed indeed passing-away, Jesus takes the cross upon his shoulders 
in order to carry it to Calvary's Mount. Is it, therefore, astonishing, that 
after a short space he wavers, and falls prostrate to the ground ? 

(b) Recognize herein the enormity of sin, for after all it is sin only 
that is the cause of the sufferings of Jesus in general as also of this pain- 



18 The Way of the Cross. 

ful fall in particular : " He was wounded for our iniquities, he was 
bruised for our sins." — Is. 53 : 5. Now if God does not spare even his only 
beloved Son, having taken the sins of the world upon himself, but subjects 
him to the full severity of his justice, can it be something insignificant, 
can it be only a matter of little moment to commit mortal sins and to 
relapse into them again and again ? Basilius, a notorious emperor of the 
Orient, while out one day, enjoying the pleasures of the chase, meeting 
an elk of extraordinary size, rushed upon him and endeavored to slay him 
with a lance. The elk, however, by means of his antler caught the em- 
peror at his cincture, lifted him on high, and was about to dash him to the 
ground, when a nobleman in the vicinity noticing the peril of his sovereign, 
hastened to his rescue and saved his life. Every one praised the heroic 
act of the nobleman and believed that the emperor would richly reward 
him. But what did he do ? The infamous wretch, whose pride could 
not endure to be under obligations to any one for a benefit, ordered 
his devoted subject, under the pretext of having sought his life, to be 
beheaded. Do not people who commit mortal sins act more wickedly and 
ungratefully towards Jesus than did this emperor towards the nobleman 
who saved his life ? Is it not a most grevious offence against our divine 
Saviour, if, instead of being thankful to him for the grace of Redemption, 
we crucify him anew ? Behold our suffering Saviour thus wearied unto 
death, and lying prostrate beneath the weight of the cross, let us reflect 
what a terrible thing sin is, and let us make the resolution henceforth to 
lead a penitential life, and to die rather than offend him again by mortal sin. 

Part II. 

Another reason why Christ on his way to Calvary's Mount fell in so pain- 
ful a manner was, without doubt, the unfruitfulness of his Passion in so 
many impenitent sinners. To convince ourselves of this, let us consider, 

1, The love of Jesus for men. No mother loves her only child as Jesus 
loved us, for as the prophet Jeremiah assures us, he loved us with an 
eternal love. Is not his incarnation even a proof of his infinite love ! Or 
is it not an evidence of his infinite love for us, when for our redemption he 
exchanged heaven for earth, walked among us in the form of a servant, 
and for thirty years led a life of poverty, contempt and humiliations? Was. 
it not loving us with an infinite love, when, finally, he suffered the most 
bitter death of the cross, in order to reconcile us with God, and rescue 
us from eternal damnation ? And what love shone forth in his demeanor 
towards sinners, with what affection he sought them out all through his 
earthly career ! How condescending was he not towards the Samaritan 
woman, how mercifully did he not treat the adulteress, whom the Jews 
wished to stone to death, how affectionately he received Magdalene, that 



Third Station. 19 

notorious public sinner, how compassionately and forgivingly he looked 
at Peter, who had denied him three times ! He rejected not even the mur- 
derer on the cross, but in the last hour of his life gave him the consoling 
assurance: "This day thou shalt be with me in paradise." — Luke 23: 
43. Evidence of the love of Jesus for us sinful men, and of his desire to 
save us, are also the parables of the good shepherd, who leaves the ninety- 
nine sheep in the desert and goes after the lost one, till he finds it, and 
having found it, rejoices over it; of the woman who seeks the lost groat 
with the greatest anxiety, and when she has found it, shows it to her friends 
and neighbors, saying: "Rejoice with me, because I found the groat 
which I had lost." — Luke 15 : 9. Because Christ loved men with an 
ineffable love, he longed, during his whole life upon earth, for the day 
on which he could accomplish the work of redemption; for this reason he 
said to his disciples at the last supper : " With desire I have desired to eat 
this pasch with you before I suffer." — Luke 23 : 15. 

2. His foreknowledge that his bitter Passion and death would he fruit- 
less for the greater part of mankind. By virtue of his omniscience he 
foresaw, that the majority of Jews and pagans would persevere in volun- 
tary blindness and, therefore, remain for ever excluded from the 
kingdom of God ; he foresaw that many Catholics would apostatize from 
the true faith, and thereby be eternally lost ; he foresaw that the majority 
of Catholics would fail to become partakers of the merits of his Passion, 
and in consequence be eternally lost. While Christ, on the way of the 
cross, by reason of his omniscience represented to himself the people of all 
times, ke was forced to say to himself: " I love men with such a devoted 
love, and I have done and suffered so much for them, I am even now on 
my way to die for them,, and what will be the result of all my sacrifices? 
Fruitless with so many are my instructions, my benefits, my miracles, 
and all the suffering of my earthly life ; fruitless is my agony and 
my bloody sweat on Mount Olivet ; fruitless the numberless insults, 
ignominies, and pains which I endured at my scourging and crown- 
ing with thorns ; fruitless my going unto death, and the blood which I am 
about to shed on the cross. And before my eyes rise up the vast number 
of the unchaste who will not abandon the base pleasures which have cost 
me such bitter pain, I behold even the many avaricious men who will 
continue to hold their hoarded wealth as God. I weep for the unjust who 
deem it a trifle to defraud their fellow men, and sigh over the unforgiving 
who still cherish the enmities that eat into their very hearts. I see num- 
bers who will permit sloth to take entire possession of their whole being, 
who will not exert themselves to repay my labors, but let my precious 
blood be shed in vain. All — all — place earthly cares and joys above their 
eternal salvation — they will not do penance — they will live in sin — And as 
they live, so shall they die." Now when Christ, on the one hand, loved 



20 The Way of the Cross. 

men so much, and therefore wished to save them in every possible way, and 
on the other hand saw, that nevertheless by far the greatest number would 
be delivered to eternal perdition, an inexpressible sadness and sorrow, 
more oppressive than the cross which he carried, weighed upon his most 
sacred heart, with every step his strength decreased, and at length, com- 
pletely exhausted, he fell fainting to the ground. 

3. Ah, how many there may be amongst us, who were the cause of 
Christ's sorrowful fall on the way to Calvary / How many there are who 
thoughtlessly violate the commandments of God and the precepts of the 
Church, and thereby offend him more and more with each succeeding day. 
They have so many means at their disposal, but they either do not avail 
themselves of them or abuse them, thus rendering themselves far more 
guilty in the sight of God. Many sermons are preached during the year; 
if by each sermon only one soul would be converted, in a short time there 
would be no more sinners, they are remembered at every Sacrifice of the 
Mass, many Christian pray for them, and often receive the bread of life in 
their behalf. They always have an opportunity, especially on Sundays and 
holy days, of reconciling themselves to God by a worthy reception of the 
Sacraments, yet they do not amend their life, but persevere in sin, and no 
grace is powerful enough to recall them from their evil ways. How was it 
possible for Christ, laden with the cross, not to have fallen to the ground on 
account of these sinners? If you live among Christians, with whom the 
merits of the Passion and death of Christ seem lost, on account of their 
continued impenitence, tell them to place themselves near the Third Station 
and there to reflect that Jesus on account of that impenitence, fell ljeneath 
the cross. Parents, say to your dissipated son, your wayward daughter : 
For your sake Christ fell beneath the cross. O ! Christians, say to all im- 
penitent sinners : It wasjyou who hastened the fall of our dear Lord, — 
Through you he bent and fell beneath the weight of the cross, — Yet it was 
not that weight but your sins which cast his sacred form to the ground, — 
you have caused this first painful fall. 

PERORATION. 

Look at the picture of this Third Station where the loving Saviour lies 
pro'strate beneath his cross. A livid paleness overspreads his holy face and 
the blood, forced out by the sharp points of the thorns, which form his 
crown runs in a red stream to the ground. One emaciated hand rests on 
the ground, the other clings to the cross to show that he loves its weight. 
Note how the cruel Jews urge him to rise, and then seriously ask yourselves 
this question, "Can it be that I too am the cause of Christ's sorrowful fall ? 
We all, perhaps, have reason to answer in the affirmative, and confess : 
Yes, I am the cause, and on my account Christ fell thus painfully to the 



Fourth Station. 21 

ground. Though at present we live in the state of grace, yet in years past 
we have often contaminated our conscience and offended God by thought, 
word, deed and omission. Whether we are sinners or penitents, let us 
prostrate ourselves at the Third Station, strike our breast and sigh con- 
tritely : ' Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us ! " Amen. 



FOURTH STATION. 



JESUS MEETS HIS MOST AFFLICTED MOTHER. 

" O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any sorrow 
like to my sorrow." — Lam. 1 : 12. 

Christ having somewhat recovered from his painful fall, with one 
mighty effort of love, summons his remaining strength, takes the heavy 
cross upon his shoulders and amid the rude jeers of the multitude, 
resumes, with faltering steps, his sorrowful way to Mount Calvary. But 
how hard did this journey become for him before he arrived at its end ! 
Mary, knowing her dearest Son to be in the hands of his enemies, has no 
longer any rest or peace, she must see him and accompany him on his 
way to death; in order to afford him all possible relief in his dire need and 
abandonment. That she may not be prevented in her mission of love, she 
hastens with her faithful companions along a route which leads more 
quickly to the mount of sorrows, and waits at a spot by which the mourn- 
ful procession must pass. She has not long to wait, savage cries fill the 
air, Christ, bent beneath the burden of the cross, surrounded by soldiers 
and accompanied by a great multitude of people, approaches and meets 
his mother. Let us consider with heartfelt sympathy in this meeting of 
Mother and Son under the most afflicting circumstances, 

I. The sorrow of the Son, and 
II. The sorrow of the Mother. 

Part I. 

That we may, at least to some extent, realize the greatness of the anguish 
which overwhelmed our divine Saviour when, on his way to Calvary, he 
met his most afflicted mother, let us consider, 

1. TJiat he loved her most tenderly Now to measure the depth of love, 
mercy, and compassion of his adorable heart would be a deed scarce within 



22 The Way of the Cross. 

the compass of man. No heart ever beat in any human breast, save that 
of his beloved mother, which so throbbed with pity at the sorrows of us 
children of men, and he was ever ready to comfort those who wept. Thus 
in the city of Nairn, a youth was carried out, the only son of a widow. 
Jesus seeing the mother of the dead youth in the deepest grief is at once 
moved with compassion ; drawing near to her, exclaims: "Weep not." 
Then he bade the dead youth arise, renewed the light in his darkened eyes, 
replaced the livid hues of death with the warm color of life, and restored 
him living, to the mother, who could scarce contain herself for joy. 
Shortly before his own death, he stands at the grave of Lazarus in Bethany; 
the death of this man and the affliction of those present, -grieve him so 
much that he himself sighs, and is moved to tears. — John n : 33-35. 
Such a sympathizing, feeling heart had our divine Lord for the sufferings of 
others. Yes, so sympathizing, compassionate and tender a heart had 
our Lord, that even for the misfortunes of his enemies he was moved, and 
the destruction of Jerusalem brought tears to his eyes. At the sight 
of this city, whose end is to be so deplorable, he cannot restrain 
his tears : "Seeing the city he wept over it." — Luke 19 : 41. Still 
more; even with his murderers he had mercy, and from the cross 
spoke those words of love and forgiveness : " Father, forgive them, for 
they know not what they do." — Luke ^ : 34. Now when Jesus was so 
affectionate towards all men, even towards his enemies, Oh, what anguish 
must have pierced his heart when he met under such afflicting circumstances 
his mother, whom he so tenderly loved. His sorrow was great when the 
terrible scourges lacerated his body, when the sharp, pointed thorns pene- 
trated deeply into his head, and when weighed down by the cross he fell 
prostrate to the ground, but the agony which the sight of his afflicted 
mother caused him was incomparably greater, and we may well believe 
what St. Bridget says : "When Jesus saw his mother in such affliction, 
the sorrow he experienced on her account was so great that, from this 
exceeding grief for her, he ceased to feel the intolerable pain of his 
wounds." 

2. That he was unable, in her deep affliction, to offer her any comfort or 
consolation. It is true, this was not impossible to him, for even in his 
deepest humiliation, he, being the Son of God, was almighty, he had 
only to will, and Mary's intense sorrow would have been changed into the 
greatest joy. Nevertheless, as in accordance with the decree of his divine 
Wisdom, he had ordained that his most holy mother should take an active 
part in this Passion and death ; in this sense he was not able to raise her 
up in her sorrow and console her. Though, according to his human will, 
he desired to comfort his afflicted mother, his divine will prevented it, and 
it demanded of him to accomplish the work of Redemption under all its 
painful, aggravating circumstances and to drink the chalice of bitterness to 



Fourth Station. 23 

the very dregs. Although he loved his dearest mother — this best of sons — 
with a love that surpassed all the combined affection of all earth's devoted 
children, he could not help her. Truly, meeting his most beloved mother 
under such circumstances, he could exclaim with the prophet : "O all ye 
that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my 
sorrow ! " 

3. Application. Christian sons and daughters, look upon the Fourth 
Station and learn from your Saviour, how you too should tenderly love 
your parents, and share with them both joy and sorrow, prosperity and 
adversity. Although they are not as good and perfect as Mary, the best of 
all mothers, yet they deserve all your love and gratitude, for after God 
they are your greatest benefactors. Reflect upon all the good they have 
done you in body and soul, think of all the trouble and solicitude you 
have caused them, the labor and pain they have endured for your sake. It 
would be ingratitude beyond description, should you forget the benefits 
they have heaped upon you from earliest infancy, or repay them with 
rudeness and ill-treatment ! O ! hard indeed would be the hearts of those 
children who, forgetful of the constant care given them by tender parents 
in their helpless childhood would neglect those dear ones when sickness, 
sorrow, or old age calls for their most devoted filial care. And yet there 
are such children. A good tree nourishes many fruits and causes them 
to grow and ripen. But as soon as they are mature they burden the tree, 
bend it to the ground and break off many branches, yea, would even destroy 
it altogether, were it not supported by props. Do many children act other- 
wise ? Having been reared by their parents not without care of which 
one can scarcely form any idea, and trouble of which it were vain to 
attempt a description, they cause them nothing but sorrow and grief. They 
have no patience with their frailties, treat them harshly and rudely, and too 
often neglect them, and permit want and misery to enter their doors. How 
fittingly does the old adage in such cases come in to play : " Parents can 
support five, six and more children, but five, six, and even more children 
often are not sufficient to support an aged father and mother. " They will- 
ingly see their parents depart this life, in order to have no longer any care 
and expense with them. Such God-forsaken, ungrateful children certainly 
incur a great responsibility before God and have reason to fear, that in 
them will be fulfilled the words of the Holy Ghost : "Of what 'an evil- 
fame is he that forsaketh his father? And he is cursed of God that anger- 
eth his mother.' 7 — Eccles. 3 : 18. Beware then, Christian children, of 
such conduct toward your parents, treat them with reverence, mildness, 
and forbearance, though they should not be without fault, love them 
most tenderly and let them want for nothing in their sickness or old age. 
— Consider the words of the Lord : "Son, support the old age of thy 
father ; and grieve him not in his life : and if his understanding fail, have 



24 The Way of the Cross. 

patience with him, and despise him not when thou art in thy strength : for 
the relieving of the father shall not be forgotten." — Eccles. 3 : 14, 15. 

Part II. 

Great, ineffably great, was the sorrow of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of 
God, when she met Jesus almost sinking beneath the burden of the cross. 
The magnitude of this sorrow will become manifest to us when we 
consider, 

1. The person who carries the cross. Compassionate hearts sympathize 
with the misery of others and on beholding it can scarcely refrain from 
tears. Thus the women of Jerusalsm wept when they saw Jesus laden with 
the cross, and accompanied him to the place of execution, wherefore he 
said to them: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me ; but weep 
for yourselves and for your children." — Luke 23 : 28. How much more in- 
tense is the grief if the suffering person is no stranger, but a relative, or a 
child ! How much did not Jacob lament, when the bloody coat of Joseph 
was exhibited to him and he was told that a wild beast had devoured him ! 
Inconsolable in his grief, he exclaimed : "I will go down to my son 
into hell (limbo) mourning. "—Gen. 37 : 35. What must have been 
Mary's anguish when she saw her son in the hands of his murderers led to 
crucifixion ! When her grief was so profound during the three days of her 
beloved child's loss at Jerusalem, that in her sorrow she thus pathetically 
said to Jesus : "Son, why hast thou done so to us? Behold thy father 
and I have sought thee sorrowing ; " — Luke 2:48; what must have been 
her sufferings at the Fourth Station when she saw him so terribly maltreated, 
and knew that he was to die on the cross ? How truly St. Bernardine says : 
"At the sight of her Son Mary experienced a sorrow so great that if it had 
been equally divided among all men they would have died." 

2. His suffering form. Ah, the most beautiful amongst the sons of 
men has no longer any form or beauty, he is the most despised and abject 
of men, a man of sorrows, like to a leper, whom the Lord has bruised for 
our sins. — Is. 53 : 2-5. His head is crowned with thorns, his eyes are 
swollen and full of dust, tears and blood, his countenance is disfigured 
with spittle, perspiration, wounds and blood, his garment is soiled and 
reddened with blood, upon his mangled shoulders lies the heavy cross, the 
terrible instrument of his Passion, the weight of which presses him to the 
ground, in short he is a most pitiable object to behold. Add to this the 
horrible curses and imprecations of the soldiers, the mockery of the 
Scribes and Pharisees, the clamor and noise of the rabble, and you have 
but a faint idea of how Mary beholds her Son ! Pilate, a pagan, seeing him, 
has compassion on him, and exclaims: '- Ecce Homo!" Behold the 
man ! If the cold heart of a pagan is touched, how must the most tender, 



Fourth Station. 25 

loving mother's heart feel ! O, at the Fourth Station of the Way of the 
Cross the prophetic words of St. Simeon were fulfilled in Mary to the very 
letter : "Thy own soul a sword shall pierce." — Luke 2: 35. On account 
of this sorrow Mary is justly called " The Queen of Martyrs." 

3. Application. In our Blessed Mother parents have a most admirable 
example of the living interest they should take in the necessities of their 
children, and the relief they should afford them as far as they are able, 
Christian charity and the obligations inseparable from their state in life 
alike impose this duty upon them, and to neglect it renders them guilty 
before God of sins against justice and charity. 

(a) For the temporal welfare of their children. Many parents have a 
number of children, and to provide for the many needs of those little ones, 
requires diligent and constant labor, wearisome toil from early morn until 
late at night. But how do many act? Yielding to the demon of sloth, 
and reckless of the fatal consequences, they ruthlessly squander the precious 
.time which should be devoted to work. Or the father will, perhaps, throw 
away his last penny for drink — or gamble with the money which should 
-clothe and feed his wife and little ones. Though the wife and children 
suffer the utmost need, though they have no clothes to cover themselves 
fittingly, no bread to stay their hunger, the dissipated father cares not, pro- 
vided his wants are gratified. To such fathers the words of the Apostle 
apply: "If any man have not care of his own, and especially of those 
of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." — I. 
Tim. 5: 8. 

{b) For their spiritual welfare. Many parents act contrary to their 
■duty in this regard. Their children frequently, even in early life 
manifest great levity and conduct which foreshadows . the worst 
results. The years bring no reform, alas, they become more degen- 
erate as they grow older. Prayer, going to church, receiving the Sacra- 
ments and all religious exercises are distasteful to them ; they plunge 
themselves into a life of worldliness and dissipation, and give free scope to 
all their sinful lusts and desires. With such children parents should have 
no compassion, they should act toward them with severity ; for they are 
in a fair way of becoming miserable for time and eternity. But no ; 
they allow their son, their daughter to go the way that leads to perdition, 
and are even indignant with those who condemn their wicked conduct, 
and who endeavor to win them from their evil ways. Are there not 
parents who find constant fault with teachers, who punish their mis- 
chievous little ones at school ? Are there not parents who resist the rules 
and regulations which are made for the good of children? Are there not 
parents who reprehend priests for forbidding unseasonable hours, drinking, 



26 The Way of the Cross. 

gambling and dancing ? O the blindness of fathers, the folly of some mothers, 
who would scorn the imputation of not loving their children, and yet they 
have not a spark of true love for them in their hearts. Ah no ! they are 
the enemies of those immortal beings, they have no compassion, they 
would destroy whom a just judge will require at their hands. What a 
responsibility is theirs, because their children on account of neglected dis- 
cipline offend God in many ways, and perhaps are eternally lost. 

PERORATION. 

Parents and children, assemble to-day before the Fourth Station of the 
Way of the Cross, consider the sorrow of Jesus and Mary in their meeting 
and make firm resolutions to fulfill conscientiously the duties which belong 
to your respective states of life. Children, love your parents, honor them, 
obey them ; if they are bent under the sorows of years, have patience with 
them and assist them according to your ability, and rejoice if God still 
leaves them — a precious legacy ! — with you a little longer that you may 
repay, at least, a part of your debt to them while they are still with you on 
earth. Parents, have a true, Christian love for your children, be solicitous 
for their spiritual and temporal welfare and put forth all your energy in 
order to bring them up in the love and fear of God, and faithful members 
of his holy Church. Such a love as exists between parent and child should 
reign amongst you all. Let us, according to the admonition of the 
Apostle, put on the bowels of mercy, assist one another in our necessities 
according to our ability and promote our temporal and eternal welfare. But 
because with the best will we cannot help ourselves or others without the 
assistance of God's grace, let us have recourse to Jesus the fountain of all 
consolation and help, and pray with humility and confidence: " Jesus 
Christ crucified, have mercy on us." Amen. 



FIFTH STATION 



SIMON OF CYRENE ASSISTS JESUS IN CARRYING THE CROSS. 

' ' And they forced one Simon of Cyrene to take up his cross. " — Mark 15 : 21. 

Thanks be to God. The fury with which the divine Saviour has been 
persecuted ceases by degrees, and human feelings seem at last to have 
entered the hearts of his relentless foes. Even the rude soldiers manifest 
some mercy and compassion, for they take the heavy load of the cross 



Fifth Station. 2j: 

from his shoulders and place it upon a certain Simon of Cyrene. ''And 
they forced one Simon of Cyrene to take up His cross." Now that the 
intolerable load has been removed, and the lacerated shoulders released 
from its pressure he can perhaps regain some small part of his fast vanish- 
ing strength, and the more easily reach the spot where the last drop of his 
blood will be shed for us, sinners, whom he so tenderly loves. Human 
hearts have procured him this mitigation. But think you that the cross was 
removed from the shoulders of the exhausted Saviour from a motive of 
mercy and compassion ? Alas ! no ! his enemies had no mercy — no pity 
in their hearts — It was done lest their hate should be deprived of its victim — 
lest Christ, unable to bear the load, should falter and fall, and die before 
he reached the scene of his crucifixion. Hate alone inspired those cruel 
men to take the cross from Jesus and give it to the Cyrenian. — Let us 
to-day place ourselves at the Fifth Station of the Way of the Cross, over 
which are written the words : "Simon of Cyrene assists Jesus in carrying: 
the cross," and consider, 

I The reasons which Simon had for not carrying the cross, and 
II. The reasons which nevertheless induced him to carry it. 

Part I. 

i. Suppose that even Simon carried the cross for Jesus more from 
compulsion than voluntarily, he nevertheless merits some consideration, on 
account of the reasons which he had for not carrying it, and of which I 
shall mention only these three : 

(a) His business. He was a farmer, and had to earn his bread in the 
sweat of his brow. Consequently when he drew near the mournful pro- 
cession, he had no idea of joining the crowd, but, as the Gospel especially 
makes mention, he only wished to pass by so as to lose no time from his 
work. Therefore, when he was hastening home, and was confronted by 
the noisy crowd with the word that he was to take the cross and to carry it for 
Jesus, he could readily have made an excuse : "I have no time, you see 
yourselves, I have just come from work and cannot be detained. There 
are many idlers here who will lose nothing by carrying the cross, put it 
upon one of them.'' Thus, or in similar words, Simon could have escaped 
the unwelcome task they would impose upon him, and gone away whither- 
soever he desired. 

(b) The disgrace of carrying the cross. The cross was an instrument 
of death for malefactors of the lowest class, and he who had to die upon 
it was considered as cursed by God and man. "Cursed is every one that 



28 The Way of the Cross. 

hangethon a tree." — Gal. 3:13. How mortifying then for Simon to be 
thus forced to carry the cross for our Saviour, who was considered a crim- 
inal; yes, it was a disgrace, even, for Christ was regarded amongst all 
malefactors, the chief. 

(c) The fatigue of carrying the cross. The weight of the cross was 
enormous, Jesus had already fallen beneath the load, and could carry it no 
farther; the way to Calvary was steep, and Simon, without doubt, was already 
wearied by hard work. He was anxious to reach his home for a much- 
needed repast, he wished to refresh himself before returning to his labori- 
ous task, and lo ! a task far more arduous and repugnant was offered him, 
and, eventually almost forced, upon his unwilling hands. 

2. We are called upon and invited, not by the' soldiers, but by Jesus 
Christ himself, to carry the cross. "If any man will come after me, let 
him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me." — Matt. 16 : 24. 
Being Christians, we are obliged to carry the cross, that is, to undergo 
mortifications and labors, without which it is impossible to lead a pious 
life. But many Christians will not consent to this, 

(a) On account of their temporal affairs. Entirely carried away by the 
pressure of temporal affairs, and utterly engrossed by their business, or 
pleasures, as the case may be, they do not take time to think of the salva- 
tion of their soul, and to comply with those religious duties which, as 
Catholics, it is incumbent upon them to fulfill. But so far from complying 
with those obligations, each succeding year finds them given up to distrac- 
tions, and alas! oblivious of "those things which are above," they toil and 
plan, and scheme, and ever it is from day to day, the world. They resem- 
ble busy Martha, who was careful about many things, whilst she neglected the 
one thing necessary. They never think of saying their daily prayers. If on 
Sunday they do not entirely neglect the precept of hearing Mass, a low Mass 
suffices for their devotion, and thus, perhaps, a year elapses without their hav- 
ing even once been present to receive instruction through the word of God. 
They do not think of confession until the paschal precept reminds them 
that now indeed they must, and then they delay receiving the Sacraments until 
the Easter time is almost over. And why ? Because as they allege, they 
have no time. O rather let them acknowledge their want of zeal in doing 
good, and confess that the will to perform their duties is lacking. If 
other Christians, who might well nigh sink beneath the pressure of all that 
duty compels them to do at home, find time for all and more than their 
absolute obligations of religion, why cannot they? Look at the noble 
example of Louis IX of France who, with the affairs of a kingdom to 
control yet found time for every duty he owed to God. 



Fifth Station. 29 

{b) On account of the contumely of which they are afraid, if they zeal- 
ously follow fesus and endeavor to lead a holy life. Too often alas ! in our 
day there is a certain obloquy attached to the rigid observance of God's 
commandments, and the precepts of the Church, while to show one's self 
a fervent zealous Catholic is to become a subject for remark and reproach. 
What contempt follows those who wish to lead a more than ordinarily pious 
life ! Their virtue is suspected, they themselves are insulted, they are 
slandered — derided and mocked at by the votaries of the world. This fatal 
fear of being made the subject of remark, the apprehension of being ridi- 
culed, deters many from the rigid observance of their religious exercises. It 
makes them model their lives according to the manner of their worldly 
minded associates. They are influenced by that bane of so many Christ- 
ians : " " What will they say ofme?" Human respect ! What will they 
think if I act so differently from their mode of life ? It is the fashion 
of the world, I must act this way, otherwise I should be overwhelmed 
with mortification. When I hear irreligious, unchaste discourses, I am 
really displeased, but have to listen to them for fear of mockery and con- 
tempt. I would like to go frequently to confession and Communion, and 
to hear Mass regularly, but if I did I should be exposed to unkind remarks 
and all kinds of abuse. Thus people think and speak, and it is but too true 
that many Christians, from a false shame and for fear of the judgment of 
the world, act in direct opposition to the voice of conscience, and despise 
the Cross on which their loving Saviour died. O, that such Christians 
would consider the words of Christ : "Whosoever shall deny me before 
men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. " — Matt. 
10 : 33. "Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this 
adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also shall be ashamed of 
him, when he shall come in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels." 
—Mark 8 : 38. 

(c) On account of the hardships and difficulties attendant upon the follow- 
ing of Christ. It ci nnotbe denied that to walk with Jesus along the dolorous 
way of the cross, in other words to follow him and lead a mortified pious life 
most assuredly is hard and demands many a painful sacrifice, which poor, 
weak human nature often shrinks from undertaking. Christ himself says : 
" The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away." 
— Matt. 11 : 12. And again : "How narrow is the gate, and strait is the 
way, which leadeth to life ; and few there are who find it." — Matt. 7 : 14. 
A pious Christian must continually carry his cross, mortify the flesh 
with its concupiscences, renounce the sinful pleasures of the world, take 
upon himself the difficulties of the service of God, atone by penitential 
works for the insults he has offered to him, and carefully guard against a 
relapse. At the sight of so many hardships, difficulties and sacrifices, 
many Christians are discouraged and cannot resolve upon earnestly begin- 



30 The Way of the Cross. 

ning to carry the cross after Christ. O, the blindness and infatuation of 
such people ; they do not consider that God commands nothing impossi- 
ble, that his grace supports our weakness and effectually sustains us in all 
that is necessary for salvation, that there is difficulty only when one is entering 
upon a life of piety and that the consolation and peace enjoyed by the faithful 
servants of God sweeten all bitterness and render what would be otherwise 
heavy and hard, so light and easy that it becomes their chief joy to walk 
in the footsteps of their suffering Lord. 

Part II. 

i. Three reasons in particular, may have induced Simon of Cyrene to 
carry the cross for Christ : 

(a) Compulsion. He refused at first to carry the cross for Christ, but 
his resistance was vain ; for he was compelled by the soldiers to do as they 
wished. " They forced one Simon of Cyrene to take up the cross for 
Jesus," says the Gospel. When he found them so determined, and saw 
that his objections were all unheeded, he yielded to necessity and carried 
the cross. 

(h) Compassion. Simon beheld the most piteous and pathetic sight, 
ever witnessed in the world, before his very eyes, that of the tortured 
Redeemer weakened, bruised, wounded, and covered with dust and blood. 
He felt that if he refused aid in this extremity, the Saviour would soon give 
up and die beneath the heavy weight of the cross, and kinder sentiments 
were awakened in his heart. Although he was not perfectly convinced of 
his innocence, yet a feeling of sympathy was awakened in him ; he, there- 
fore, resisted the soldiers no longer, but took up the cross and put it upon 
his own shoulders. He did this the more readily as the patience with 
which Jesus Christ bore every hardship, his eyes raised to heaven, his silence, 
and his whole conduct convinced him more and more of the innocence of 
the Saviour. 

(c) The shortness of the way. Turning his glance in the direction of 
Calvary, Simon saw that the journey was almost completed, and that he 
would soon reach the summit of the mount. He said to himself : I will 
no longer resist, in a few minutes it will be over, and I shall lay down the 
cross, and with the consciousness of having performed a work of mercy, 
can return to my work. 

2. Application. 

(a) "God will have all men to be saved," (i.Tim. 2 : 4), but because 
many are not willing to do what is required for salvation, he does what 



Fifth Station. 31 

the soldiers did \vho forced Simon to take up the cross, he forces them by 
tribulations and sufferings to serve him. There are alas ! but too many 
who resemble a clock which works only when it is loaded with a weight, 
or water which can be preserved from corruption only by the strength and 
virtue of salt. How many sinners do we not find who owe their conver- 
sion to crosses and afflictions ! Adam and Eve, the brothers of Joseph, 
Manasses, and the man who was afflicted with an infirmity for thirty-eight 
years, and thousands of others would probably have continued in sin, if 
God had not recalled them from their evil ways by strewing with thorns 
the pathway which formerly had been bordered with roses. Such is also 
the case to-day. Man, who, when the sunshine of prosperity illumines his 
life, easily forgets God and deviates from the right path, is called back upon 
it, when its brightness is overshadowed by the clouds of affliction. He de- 
taches his heart from the deceitful world, repents of his errors and reforms 
his life, and is ever after a true lover of the cross. The tribulations with 
which God visits us are, therefore, especial proofs of his love and are fre- 
quently the only means of salvation for the sinner. Let us not, then, 
complain of sufferings and afflictions, but receive them patiently and bear 
them as long as it pleases God to afflict us, mindful of the words of the 
Apostle : ' ' Whom the Lord loveth he chastiseth, and he scourgeth every 
son whom he receiveth. " — Heb. 12:6. 

(b) One glance upon our suffering Saviour should stimulate us to 
patience. "My God," says St. Alphonsus, "how is it possible that he 
who looks at his Saviour, who beholds his God die in a sea of sufferings, 
can become impatient in his sufferings, nay, how is it possible for him not 
to wish, for the love for his Lord, to endure all possible pains ! " St. Mag- 
dalene of Pazzi says : "The greatest pain is agreeable when one looks 
upon Jesus on the cross." And St. Bernard says : "He who loves his 
crucified Saviour never murmurs or complains in sufferings and tribula- 
tions." In all your trials, sufferings and afflictions look up to Jesus on the 
cross and consider what he has suffered, and with what heavenly patience he 
has endured everything, and it will certainly not be hard for you to follow 
him on the Way of the Cross. 

(c) When Simon of Cyrene took up the cross, he consoled himself with 
the thought : The end is very near at hand, the way to Calvary is not 
long, I shall soon be there. Can we not also console ourselves with this 
thought when we are visited with sufferings and afflictions, or when to 
follow Christ on the way of mortification and self-denial appears hard to 
us ? O yes, for what is our life upon earth but a shadow which quickly 
passes, a flower that blossoms to-day and withers to-morrow. Some of 
us may yet live thirty years, others twenty, others ten, others five, some 
perhaps only one year, one month, one day. How quickly will this time 



32 The Way of the Cross. 

pass ! Even supposing that for some the years will extend to a period of 
fifty or sixty ? It is a long time to look forward to, but what are those 
years compared to eternity ? Not one moment ! " for a thousand years in 
thy sight (O eternal God) are as yesterday which is past." — Ps. 89 : 4. 
And, behold, if in this short space of time you carry the cross after your 
Saviour, you will enter with him into glory, for if we suffer with him we 
shall be glorified with him. — Rom. 8:17. O where is the Christian who, 
considering this consoling truth, will refuse to follow Jesus Christ on the 
way of the cross, with patience and constancy. 

PERORATION. 

O Jesus, our crucified Lord and Saviour, we know and take to heart 
what thou hast said : " He that takethnot this cross and followeth me, is not 
worthy of me." — Matt. 10: $8. Meditating then upon the Fifth Station 
let us make the firm resolution to carry the cross after Jesus, to walk in his 
footsteps and to follow him that we may one day participate in his glory in 
heaven. Amen. 



SIXTH STATION 



VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS. 

"Do good to the just; and thou shalt find great recompense." — Ecclus 12 ; 2. 

In the Sixth Station of the cross we behold Jesus still painfully pursuing 
his steps along the dolorous way, whilst his tormentors urge him to greater 
speed in their eagerness to put him to death. His sacred countenance is 
so disfigured by dust and blood, that it can scarcely be recognized, and his 
whole appearance so indicative of the deepest dejection that it touched the 
heart of a pious matron, who, burning with the desire to help the divine 
sufferer, offers him her veil that he might wipe his sacred face ! It is not 
known who this good woman was, we cannot even give her name with 
certainty. Some call her Berenice, others say that her name was Seraphia, 
and that she was the wife of a certain councilman, named Sirach. We 
know her best by the name "Veronica," however, and love to contemplate 
the kind act which even on earth, met with so magnanimous a reward. 
Veronica signifies ' ' the true picture. " The name was given her because Christ 
when he wiped his face imprinted on the veil the picture of his most holy 



Sixth Station. 33 

countenance. Let us meditate to-day on this event. Placing ourselves be 
neath the Sixth Station, which bears the inscription : " Veronica wipes the 
face of Jesus" let us consider for our edification, 

I. What act of charity Veronica did to Christ, and 
II. What recompense she received from him for it. 

Part I. 

1. At first sight the act of charity which Veronica did to Christ in 
presenting him her veil to wipe his face, does not appear as something 
great, but we shall judge otherwise when we consider, 

(a) The great love with which she came to the relief of Christ in his aban- 
donment. There is no doubt that Veronica was of the number of those who 
acknowledged Christ as the Redeemer, promised and sent by God, and that 
she adhered to him with a believing, faithful heart. How she trembled 
when she heard that he was condemned to death and would be led to 
Calvary to be crucified ! She started at once on her way, hastened to 
Mount Calvary and took a position at a place from which she could see 
the mournful train as it passed. O ! what anguish stirred her heart to its 
deepest depths when the rabble drew nigh, and in the midst of a rude, 
jeering mob, she saw Christ almost fainting under the heavy load of the 
cross. Tears dimmed her eyes as she beheld the cold clammy drops of 
perspiration, mingled with blood and dust, which covered the holy face of 
our Lord — of him, the king of heaven and earth ! Her compassionate 
heart would have rejoiced could she have rescued the innocent sufferer 
from his merciless foes, but as this would be an impossility, she did at least 
what she could. She approached Jesus and with the greatest reverence 
wiped his face with her veil in order thereby to mitigate his sufferings. 
This certainly was an act of charity which, because of the loving wish 
which prompted it is entitled to our earnest commendation. 

(b) The obstacles which she had to overcome in the performance of this 
act of charity. The divine Saviour was surrounded only by men who hated 
him with a most intense hatred, and who took the greatest pleasure in 
aggravating his way to death as much as possible. With what contempt 
must this good woman have been treated when she pressed forward to wipe 
the face of Jesus ! Some said that she had lost her senses, because she 
wiped the face of a malefactor with her costly veil, others rudely pushed 
her back, with loud curses and threats. And what did the priests, the 
Scribes, the Pharisees do ? Their dark and angry glances betrayed their 
indignation and wrath, and they bitterly denounced her as deserving of 
the expulsion from the synagogue which would probably follow her " mad 



34 



The Way of the Cross. 



act" Thus we see how Veronica's kind deed gained for her derision, per- 
secution and insult, but regardless of all else save her mission of love, she 
hesitated not until it was accomplished. There were difficulties in her 
path — there were obstacles in the way — but in the face of all she performed 
this deed of charity inspired by love. 

2. Application. 

(a) What a beautiful example does not Veronica give us for our con- 
sideration ! The service of God is attended with difficulties. Christ 
himself says : " If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, 
and take up his cross, and follow me." — Matt. 16 : 24. He who wishes 
to live as a good, pious, practical Christian, must be prepared to suffer 
contempt, insult, derision and persecution, and to endure much that is 
not only not pleasant, but decidedly the reverse, and often very difficult to 
bear. 

(b) In these obstacles we find the reason why so many Christians, for- 
getful of all that Jesus endured for them, become faithless to Christ, and 
enter the enemy's camp. Alas, how many poor weak souls does human 
respect lure from their allegiance to Christ! Like the Apostles, who 
could not be too devoted in their adherence to their divine Master when 
sunshine seemed to gild his way, but who, when the dark clouds of adversity 
appeared, left him and fled, they too fail in the hour of trial. They lack 
good will ; they find pleasure in good and detest and hate that which is 
evil, they serve God in time of prosperity and joyfully walk in the path of 
virtue ; but in time of adversity, when a sacrifice is required of them for 
Christ's sake, they become discouraged, cowardly surrender and make a dis- 
honorable peace with the enemies of the cross. Whence this weakness ? 
Ah ! their love for God is still weak and imperfect. If their love for Christ 
were as ardent as was Veronica's, let the difficulties in the way of their 
salvation seem ever so insurmountable, they would persevere until they 
were all set aside. "Love is as strong as death, many waters cannot 
quench charity," (Cant. 8 : 17), for charity beareth all things, endureth all 
things. — 1. Cor. 13:7. He who loves God above all things can exclaim 
with St. Paul : ' ' Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? Shall 
tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or persecu- 
tion? or the sword?" — Rom. 8 : 35. Let us daily ask Jesus for this 
strong, conquering love, that we may adhere to him with equal fidelity in 
the days of adversity as well as in those of prosperity. 

Part II. 

Veronica through devotion and compassion for Jesus offered the veil 
from her head, that he might wipe the sweat from off his brow, and he 



Sixth Station. 35 

deigned to imprint his sacred countenance upon the cloth. In truth, a 
great recompense for the act of charity which Veronica performed ; for he 
thereby gave her, 

1. The most touching evidence of his love. The more precious in our 
estimation is the gift we bestow upon another, the greater is the degree of 
affection we manifest towards the favored one. Thus Jonathan divested 
himself of his own garments and gave them, together with his arrow, 
sword and cincture, to his friend David as a sign of his affection and love 
for him. The dearer to us is the gift which we give to another, the more 
we express our love for him, and demonstrate the high place he holds in 
our esteem. Now there is nothing in closer relation to us, and of greater 
value in our own eyes, than our own portrait. By giving it to one we give 
him, as it were, ourselves. When, therefore, our divine Lord permitted 
Veronica to possess the impression of his holy face, it was a certain mark 
that he found her worthy of his approval and love. Thereby he distin- 
guished and preferred her to the weeping women of Jerusalem, to whom he 
'gave no other sign of his love than to say to them, that they should not 
weep over him, but for themselves and for their children. — Luke 23 : 28. 

(a) What a grace for Veronica that Jesus gave her the impression of his 
sacred countenance, thereby assuring her of his love ! What treasure is 
more valuable and more desirable than the love of Jesus! He who 
possesses this inestimable treasure enjoys even here below the greatest happi- 
ness, for he enjoys a peace which surpasses all conception and which the 
world with its ephemeral joys and fleeting treasures, may try, but try 
all vainly to give. Even in sufferings and tribulations he can say with the 
Apostle : "I am filled with comfort, I exceedingly abound with joy in all 
our tribulation." — 2. Cor. 7 : 4. And what an unspeakable felicity is re- 
served for him in the next life ? There he will enjoy a beatitude incom- 
prehensible in its greatness and eternal in its duration : " The eye hath 
not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what 
things God hath prepared for them that love him." — 1. Cor. 2 : 9. 

(b) An excellent means for a return of love. So exceedingly precious in 
the eyes of devoted and loving children are the portraits of their dead 
parents that they value them as their dearest earthly possessions. Looking 
at them vividly recalls the tender solicitude with which that dear father — 
that cherished mother watched over them during life, and they weep tears of 
gratitude — of sorrow — of love. At the same time they vividly remember 
the salutary lessons and admonitions given them by their father and 
mother and they renew their resolutions to live according to them as long 
as life lasts. Good children do this, the picture of their parents is to them 
not only a dear keepsake, but also a powerful incentive to a virtuous life. 



36 The Way of the Cross. 

We cannot doubt that Veronica thought and felt thus before the image of 
Jesus. O, I think I see her look at this wonderful picture and contem- 
plate it for hours at a time. When she represented to herself the bitter 
Passion and death of Christ, the fire of love would ardently inflame her 
heart, and full of emotion she would exclaim : " O Jesus, how much thou 
hast done and suffered in order to redeem us miserable sinners ! In grati- 
tude to thee for this infinite love I devote my whole love to thee ! " And 
this she did; she offered herself as a sacrifice to Jesus, and for the re- 
mainder of her life, the greatest trials and hardships were joyfully endured 
for his sake. All the days of her life she served him with a fidelity that 
knew no wavering, and now it is her happy lot to see her Saviour face to 
face. In wrapt adoration she can gaze constantly on the reality of what 
she so cherished upon earth. 

2. Application. 

(a) We possess the same means which incited Veronica to the love of 
Jesus Christ. The "Ecce Homo," that touching picture of the crucified, the 
MAN OF SORROWS is within the reach of all, and he that can resist the 
pleading look in its sad eyes must be obdurate and hard-hearted in 'the 
extreme. He that contemplates this picture with attention and in the 
light of faith, would prove himself, indeed, destitute of every human feel- 
ing, if he would remain cold and insensible to all emotion. History proves 
that even the most careless people and the greatest sinners become contrite, 
totally changed and inflamed with the love of God. Hippolitus, a pious 
priest of Florence, had a painting of the "Ecce Homo." It was his 
constant practice to devote several hours daily .to the contemplation of this 
picture, and to meditation upon the love and suffering which it recalled. 
His heart would overflow with gratitude, as he dwelt upon every detail of 
that infinite love which caused a God to shed his precious blood for sinful 
man. Whilst thus engaged he attracted the gaze of a proud vain woman 
who lived opposite, and who was scandalized thinking that he was regard- 
ing his own features in a mirror, Unable to resist her curiosity she asked 
him to show her the remarkable mirror which so frequently engrossed his 
attention. The priest willmgly complied with the request. He took the 
picture and brought it to the house of this vain daughter of the world. 
Seeing the image of our Redeemer, with a crown of thorns on his head, 
tears in his eyes, his lips purple, his face covered with spittle, perspiration 
and dust, and in such a pitiable state that he scarcely resembled a man, she 
was struck with terror and deeply moved. The priest said : "Behold the 
mirror which you desired to see ; in it all should daily contemplate them- 
selves. If this mirror makes no impression upon you and does not move 
your heart to conversion, you are lost. Contemplate in this sacred coun- 
tenance how much your Redeemer suffered on account of your pride and 



Sixth Station. 37 

vanity. Behold with your own eyes him, before whom on the day of judg- 
ment you must give a rigorous account of all whom you have scandalized 
and seduced." These words made so powerful an impression upon her that 
she began to weep bitterly for her sins and contritely prostrating herself 
before the priest, she implored pardon for them, resolved to lead a Christian 
life, renounced the world, and, in a convent, became a model for all. 

(b) Follow the example of this penitent. Look often at the picture of the 
crucifixion, but let not your eyes turn away from it unmoved. It will be 
a meditation most profitable to the soul. You will understand the great 
evil of sin and will resolve to love and serve Jesus who has done and suf- 
fered so much for your sake. Look upon the picture of your crucified 
Saviour, particularly in time of temptation and when in danger of commit- 
ting sin. If you have to suffer injustice and persecution, if anger and 
hatred arise in your heart, look upon the crucifix and consider, what 
ignominy and abuse Jesus suffered for love of you, and you will overcome 
all desire of revenge and remain meek. If great tribulations afflict you, 
.look at the crucifix and contemplate the inexhaustible patience with which 
Christ suffered and you will regain courage and resign yourself to the will 
of God. If you are tempted to pride, to impurity or to any other sin, 
look at the crucifix, and consider what Jesus had to suffer on account of 
our sins, and take to heart the words : "If in the green wood they do 
these things, what shall be done in the dry; " (Luke 23 : 31) ; thus with 
the help of God's grace you will overcome every temptation and with con- 
stancy walk in the path of virtue. 

PERORATION. 

Yes, according to the example of Veronica and other pious Christians, 
often look at the image of the suffering and dying Redeemer ; contem- 
plate yourselves in this mirror of all virtue and perfection, and you will be 
greatly stimulated to avoid every sin and to serve God with renewed fervor. 
Thus the pictures of the Passion will be to you as to Veronica a great gift 
of grace, and you may hope that you will one day behold in heaven him, 
upon whose picture you so often looked with loving sorrow here below. 
Amen. 



38 The Way of the Cross. 



SEVENTH STATION 



JESUS FALLS BENEATH THE CROSS THE SECOND TIME. 

" Being pushed, I was overturned that I might /all." — Ps. uy : ij. 

We are again assembled to-day to direct our attention to the divine Sav- 
iour who for love us died the most painful death, for the narrative of the 
Passion and death of Christ must be to us a story "ever ancient, yet 
always new," and we cannot weary of hearing how our dear Redeemer 
purchased for us heaven and its joys by the cross. And of the many sub- 
jects of meditation presented by our watchful mother the Church, there is 
none more salutary than the devout contemplation of all that Jesus has 
done and suffered for our sake. Herein we learn not only God's severe 
justice which spared not his only begotten Son ; but having pledged him 
for sinners, delivered him up to the most painful death, but we also behold 
with a clearer conviction that infinite love and mercy which moved God 
to sacrifice the dearest object of his love, that the sinful human race might 
be redeemed. We are stimulated to renounce sin, to serve God and to 
enter upon a holy life and to secure the salvation of our immortal souls. 
For this reason the holy Fathers and spiritual writers urgently recommend 
the meditation on the Passion and death of Christ, and St. Albert the 
Great says that to meditate daily on the Passion of Christ is more profitable 
than to fast on bread and water every Friday throughout the year, to disci- 
pline oneself severely and to recite all the psalms from beginning to end. 
Let us place ourselves at the Seventh Station, over which is written : 
li Jesus /alls beneath the cross the second time" and let us consider what 
was the cause of this fall, I find two reasons, in particular : 

I. The cruelly of his enemies, and 
II. The /aithlessness 0/ his /r lends. 

Part I. 

Once again we behold the wearied and well-nigh expiring Saviour waver 
beneath a burden far too heavy, a load which has already caused him one 
painful fall. He vainly seeks to recover himself, the weight overpowers 
him, he falls with his holy face to the earth. Why does he fall again to 
the ground, from which he had but a few moments ago risen from his first 
fall? You need not question long; the first cause was the cruelty 0/ his 
enemies. 



Seventh Station. 39 

1. They had not the least compassion on him. The very criminal on his 
way to the death penalty is treated with consideration and his pathway 
smoothed by a certain degree of kindness, so that his last hour of life may 
not be bitter and hard. He is placed in a wagon or carriage, by his side 
is a priest who whispers words of solace, bids him take courage, prays with 
him, and for him, that he may be preserved from despair. A breathless 
silence seems to pervade the very air, so profoundly quiet are the spectators, 
and they evince the greatest sympathy, especially if he die a penitent death. 
But how is Jesus treated with the cross on his shoulders ? Is his dolorous 
way to Calvary's Mount alleviated, is the adorable Son of God treated 
better than a malefactor ? We must answer these questions absolutely in 
the negative. They have compassion on Barabbas, the robber and mur- 
derer, compassion on the two thieves, but they have no compassion on Jesus ; 
all who conduct and accompany him to death are his sworn enemies, who 
vie with one another in making his way to death as painful as possible. The 
leaders of the Jewish people, the Scribes and Pharisees, blaspheme and 
calumniate him and every moment seems an hour until they see their divine 
.victim expire on the cross. The degenerate people, too, who in great 
multitudes accompany him, desire his death, and anxiously look forward to 
the moment when he is to be crucified. On his way to Calvary, with the 
exception of Mary, his ever loving mother, and a few pious women who, 
although their hearts longed to comfort him, could accomplish nothing 
to give him relief, no one had any compassion, no one would in any way 
alleviate his sorrowful journey to death. His sacred brow was throbbing 
beneath the thorns, and his tender feet were bleeding, bruised, and torn. 
His tottering form was bending with the weight of the cross, which 
seemed to grow heavier with every step he took. O ! truly could he say 
with the Psalmist : "I looked for one that would grieve together with me, 
but there was none : and for one that would comfort me, and I found 
none.'"' — Ps. 68 : 21. 

Application. Had you been present at the time when Jesus laden with 
the cross went to Calvary, would you, too, have had no mercy, no 
compassion on him ? Certainly you would have had. With Veronica 
you would have offered him fine linen to wipe his holy face ; with Simon 
of Cyrene, assisted him in carrying his cross and with the women of 
Jerusalem who wept over him, you at least would have mingled your tears. 
What you would have done then, you can do even to-day, you can prove 
in deed that you have compassion on Jesus, your suffering and dying 
Redeemer. One day, when the pitiless storms of a hard winter swept over 
the earth, and many perished from cold, the following incident is related 
of St. Martin, afterwards bishop of Tours. He was marching through the 
country with other officers and soldiers, when he met at the gate of the 
city of Amiens a poor man, almost naked, trembling and shivering with 



40 The Way of the Cross. 

cold, begging an alms of those who passed by. Martin, seeing that those 
who went before him took no notice of the poor mendicant, thought he 
was reserved for himself. On account of his charities to others he had 
nothing left but his arms and the clothes he wore ; Yet drawing his sword, 
he cut his cloak in two pieces, gave one to the beggar and wrapped him- 
self up in the other half. But what happened ? A divine vision appeared 
to him during the night, and he recognized Jesus- Christ in the poor mend- 
icant he had befriended. Our Lord was wrapped in the half of the mantle 
which the saint had given away, telling him to look well at it and say 
whether he knew it, our Lord said to him : "Martin, yet a catechumen, 
has clothed me with his garment." Do you know now how you should 
have compassion ? Be charitable to the needy and afflicted. Christ re- 
ceives what you do to others, as done to himself, for he says : "Amen, I 
say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren you did 
it tome." — Matt. 25: 40. 

2. He is treated most unmercifully. Did you ever see a man whipping 
his horses unmercifully, when they could not draw the load he had in his 
cruelty imposed upon them ? Such is the treatment that Jesus received. 
He cannot, how much soever he may try, carry the load any farther, his 
knees tremble, his form sways hither and thither, a few moments and he 
will fall. This arouses the fury of his enemies anew. The cruel tor- 
turers when they observe his weakness behave like madmen, they strike 
and drag him forward with ropes which they had fastened round his loins, 
and, in their rage, presume so far as to kick the Son of God. Under such 
cruel tortures he loses the remnant of his strength, and falls as one dead 
to the ground with the heavy weight of the cross upon his bruised and 
bleeding body. " He falls the second time beneath the heavy load of the 
cross." 

Application. Guard against nothing so much as against being unmerci- 
ful towards your fellow-men, especially towards the poor, the needy and 
the afflicted. Be assured that great as is the delight which God takes in 
Christians who practice works of mercy towards their fellow-men, so 
equally great is the displeasure with which he regards those who have 
no heart and feeling for the needs of their neighbor and uncharitably 
thrust him from their doors when he asks their assistance. The inhabitants 
of a certain city in Posen were condemned by the enemy to pay so enor- 
mous a sum as an indemnification, that it seemed impossible to raise the 
amount. There lived in the city a woman, the widow of a prince, who pos- 
sessed a fabulous amount of wealth ; at the cost of some deprivation to 
herself she could have defrayed the whole amount, which the poor citizens 
altogether were not able to pay. They humbly asked her for help but were 
repulsed. So urgent was the necessity, so deplorable was their condition 



Seventh Station. 41 

that they begged again and yet again, but with no effect ; the unmerciful 
woman locked herself in the house and refused to see any one. Some time 
elapsed and, the house still remaining unopened, they began to wonder 
what had become of her. It was decided to force open the doors, and 
O ! what a terrible spectacle met their gaze ! The wretched creature was 
' crouching near a box of gold, dead, but staring at it, apparently, as if fas- 
cinated by its glitter. One rigid hand clutched the box in an icy clasp, the 
other held the key, — Yes, she had gone before her judge. Her counten- 
ance wore a repulsive look in death, her eyes had in them the stony 
• glare of one whose last moments were filled with despair. O ! who can 
depict her horror ! What must have been her final doom ? For all reply 
look to the parable of Dives and Lazarus (Luke 16 : 20) as well as to the 
sentence pronounced by Christ upon the unmerciful. — Matt. 25 : 21. Far 
from showing yourself destitute of mercy and compassion towards the 
poor and needy, be rather charitable towards them and assist them in 
word and deed, considering the words of Christ: "Blessed are the 
merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." — Matt. 5 : 7. 

Part II. 

Jesus Christ fell the second time on account of the unfaithfulness of his 
friends. Our oft-repeated sins are the cause of his fall. 

1, When our divine Saviour with the heavy load of the cross upon his 
shoulders was on the way to Calvary's Mount, his thoughts rested upon the 
friends whom he loved so te-nderly, and who had received such numerous 
benefits at his hands. He recalled the touching evidence of the love and 
loyalty which had never been wanting from them and his heart was sorrow- 
ful, almost " unto death." for now all were disloyal to him. We can well 
imagine then, how this thought became for him a source of the bitterest 
grief, and how it immeasurably increased his dejection as he sadly pursued 
his way to the mount. Peter had reiterated his denial with an oath, 
Poor weak apostle ! He was the most emphatic of all in his assurrances 
of fidelity to his master, he declared that though all should forsake Jesus 
he would never desert him, and yet at the first moment of temptation he 
fell ! The other disciples too, who, at the Last Supper, had assured him 
that they would live and die with him, took to flight when they saw his 
enemies surround him, and in their terror fled, daring not to show them- 
selves before men. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem ! What of them ? 
But a few short days before they had welcomed him with enthusiasm, 
spread their rich robes as a carpet in his path, and waved the graceful 
palm branch aloft. Ah ! now thoroughly blinded they forget how they 
cried, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the 
name of the Lord ! Hosanna in the highest. — Matt. 21 : 17. Instead, 
from lip to lip pass the cruel words : "Away with him ! away with him ! 



42 The Way of the Cross. 

Crucify him! crucify him ! — John 19 : 15. During his public life Christ 
had rendered assistance to numberless unfortunate persons and conferred 
on them all manner of benefits, now there is not one among them who 
would dare to take his part, all remained away from him and were silent, 
some even joined in the cry of murder which resounds through the air. 
Should not such base treachery deeply ' afflict and wound the heart of 
Christ ! Nay must not this treachery of his friends have been more pain- 
fnl to him than even the cruelty of his enemies? Who could doubt it? 
Nothing inflicts a deeper wound upon the human heart than the treachery 
of friends. When Caesar recognized his friend Brutus, upon whom he had 
lavished so much kindness, among the conspirators who fell upon him 
with sharp daggers, his strength left him and mournfully exclaiming : 
"And thou, too, Brutus!" he covered his face with the toga, and with- 
out any further resistance suffered himself to be wounded unto death. 
Thus it was with our divine Saviour ; when he remembered the treachery 
of his friends to whom he had done so much good, an anguish so intense 
seized his soul that his strength failed him and he fell a second time be- 
neath the weight of the cross. 

2. How is it with us ? Does not the accusing voice of conscience tell 
us that we, too, have been accessory to this second painful fall of our dear 
Lord ? Yes, many of us, forgetful of his great love have left, 

(a) The ways ofinnoce?ice and have sinned. Perhaps a short time ago 
they walked in holiness and purity of morals, and were happy in the knowl- 
edge of never having lost their baptismal innocence. But how do matters 
stand with them now? Ah, their love for God has grown cold, the 
Holy Ghost no longer reigns in their hearts. Instead of fair gardens, 
lovely with the flowers of virtue, behold ! they have become desolate 
plains — they have committed mortal sin, and the evil spirit rules with full 
sway. Should the angel of death summon them to depart in this unhappy 
state, they would most surely be cast into the fiery abyss of the damned, 
O, how deplorable is the lot of such Christians! Is it any wonder that 
Jesus faltered with pain and grief of mind, and fell to the ground on his 
way to Calvary, when he thought of their sad fall from the state of grace? 
O unfortunate souls, can nothing touch you, can you not be moved to 
consider the pain you have caused your suffering Saviour by the loss of 
baptismal grace ? Will you not rise from your fall by a true repentance, 
and thus rescue your soul from eternal perdition. But you who are so 
happy as to possess baptismal innocence, preserve it as your most precious 
treasure, and "watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation." — 
Matt. 26 : 41. 

{b) The way of penance and have sinned again. Absalom, David's degen- 
erate son, had killed his brother Ammon. This was a great affliction for his 



Seventh Station. 43 

aged father, who loved all his children most tenderly. Absalom fled that 
he might escape the punishment of which he was most deserving ; but, re- 
penting of his crime, he presumed on the affection so lavishly poured 
out upon by his father, and implored his pardon, whereupon, not only 
was his wickedness freely forgiven, but David fully reinstated him in his 
favor, (2. Kings 14,) but what did the ungrateful child do shortly after- 
wards? He forgot all the love of his father and rebelled against him, being 
desirous of usurping his sceptre and crown. Now judge for yourselves: 
was not Absalom a man who merits our entire detestation ? Did he not 
deserve the death he met with at the hand of Joab, who thrust three lances 
into his black treacherous heart ? But however grievously Absalom erred 
by his repeated crime towards his father, the relapsing sinner commits a 
greater crime. Why ? Evidently because he renders himself guilty of the 
greatest ingratitude towards God whom he offends anew after having been 
pardoned by him. Tertullian says: "A sinner, who, having received 
from God the remission of his crimes, again relapses into them, prefers 
the devil himself to God ; for since God by means of sanctifying grace has 
■entered into the heart of the penitent sinner according to the words of 
the Evangelist : c We know that we have passed from death to life,'' — 1. 
John 3:15; such a sinner, who dares to offend God anew, makes, as it 
were, a comparison between God and the devil, and, finally, by his reso- 
lutions to sin actually passes the sentence : that the one of the two for 
whom he declares himself must be the better." What an infatuation, to 
prefer the devil to God ! Relapse into sin, above all when it becomes of 
frequent occurence places our salvation in most imminent peril, and why? 
Because by yielding to sin we grow weaker while our passions wax stronger, 
the devil acquires a certain dominion over us, and the grace of God recedes 
farther and farther from our souls. Hence, St. Bernard says : "As the 
relapse into a bodily sickness is worse than the first attack, so it is with 
the relapse into sin. "And St. Augustine says : "Did Christ give sight twice 
to a blind man ? Did he twice heal the man sick of the palsy? Did he twice 
raise the same dead man to life ? The Sacred Scripture speaks of only one 
healing, that we should fear to relapse into sin. " It was this ingratitude 
and this danger of our soul's salvation, which so deeply oppressed the heart 
of our Lord on his way of the cross that he fell the second time to the 
ground. Consider this, you relapsing sinners, humbly ask pardon of Jesus 
for the pain which you have caused him by your infidelity and resolve to 
amend your life and henceforth to walk with constancy on the way of 
penance. 

PERORATION. 

Let us all, sinners and just, devoutly meditate on this second fall of 
Christ so exceedingly painful, which was caused by the cruelty of his ene- 



44 The Way of the Cross. 

mies and the treachery and unfaithfulness of his friends. Let us detest 
from the inmost recesses of our heart, the inhuman cruelty with which the 
Jews maltreated our divine Saviour, but let us also detest our own infidelity of 
which we have been guilty, let us vow to him a thorough amendment and cry 
out in the words of the Way of the Cross : ' ' Jesus ! have mercy on us. Stretch 
out thy hand, that its strengthening grasp may support us in our weak- 
ness and so aid us that we may never again relapse into our former sins. 
We have said it, and this very moment we shall begin the work of our con- 
version in all earnestness. Do thou O Jesus, assist us with thy grace with- 
out which we can do nothing, that we may faithfully keep our resolution." 
Amen. 



EIGHTH STATION 



JESUS CONSOLES THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM WHO WEPT 
OVER HIM. 

"Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me : but weep for yourselves and 
for your children. — Luke 23 : 28. 
1 

Jesus having fallen the second time under the weight of the cross lies 
prostrate on the ground. This pitiful sight, so far from moving the soldiers to 
pity, increases their rage to the point of madness, while they curse and blas- 
pheme in so loud a manner that the Mount resounds with the imprecations 
which pour in torrents from their lips ; with their unholy hands they dare 
to strike Jesus, and savagely pull him with the ropes fastened around 
his loins until they succeed in raising him once more upon his feet. The 
women of Jerusalem who follow the mournful train are profoundly touched 
on account of his painful fall, and observing the cruelty with which his cruel 
enemies treat him, they can no longer repress their sorrow, but burst forth 
into violent sobbing, while their tears seemed as if they would never cease to 
now. Jesus hearing their cries and lamentations turns and addresses 
them in these earnest words: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; 
but weep for yourselves and for your children." We will make a short 
meditation on this circumstance in the Passion of Christ. Turn your eyes 
upon the Eighth Station, which bears the inscription : 'Jesus consoles the 
women of Jerusalem who wept over him" and consider : 

/. The tears which the women wept over Jesus, and 
II. The words which Jesus spoke to the women. 



Eighth Station. 45 

Part I. 

The Eighth Station also affords us some degree of consolation. We see 
there the women of Jerusalem, who had compassion for Jesus and wept 
sorrowful tears for his woes. The tears of those women however do not 
merit our undivided approval, for 

T. They flowed from a natural cause. 

(a) There was indeed nothing to elicit surprise or remark in these women 
weeping over our Saviour ; the sight of him was enough to excite sym- 
pathy in the heart of every one who had not lost all feeling for the woes of 
others. If even the pagan Pilate, when he saw before him the Saviour, 
scourged, crowned with thorns and most inhumanly abused, exclaimed 
in sadness and sympathy: " Ecce Homo! Behold the man!" how 
could women, who are by nature much more tenderhearted and sympa- 
thetic than men, have refrained from weeping at the sight of his. pitiable 
condition ? It was but fitting that the women of Jerusalem should shed 
those tears of compassion, but they should also have investigated the cause 
of the deplorable misery into which he was plunged. And what was this 
cause? Alas! no other than their sins, the sins of the world. " He was 
wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins." — Is. 53 : 5. Sin 
lifted the heavy cross and placed it on the lacerated shoulders of our Lord. 
Sin ultimately is the sole cause that he had to carry it to the sorrowful 
mount. Sin, accursed sin, drove the nails to fasten him thereupon, and 
left him to suffer and die. The women of Jerusalem did not consider this ; 
they wept only from natural tenderness of heart, nothing was farther from 
their thoughts than to repent and bewail their sins as the cause of Christ's 
painful journey to Calvary. Hence their tears were profitless and would 
not avert the judgments of God, which were to come upon Jerusalem. 

Application. Do not many Christians resemble these women ? They 
sigh, moan, lament and weep, but not for or on account of their sins, but 
on account of the temporal evils which they have brought upon themselves 
by their sinful life. A daughter is deeply dejected. Why? Because, through 
her scandalous conduct, she has lost her honor and good name and 
must henceforth dwell, poor and forsaken, beneath the shadow of a blight- 
ing shame and disgrace. A wayward son who, in some midnight brawl, 
has wounded or even taken the life of his adversary, grieves and his de- 
spair even forces the tears from his eyes. Why ? Because a lawsuit, with its 
attendant expenses is inevitable, while a prison or, perhaps, even the gallows 
looms up before his eyes. The inebriate whose passion for drink has brought 
upon him an incurable malady — laments in his trouble and weeps. Why: Be- 
cause he can no longer hope to recover his health, and because he dreads ap- 



46 The Way of the Cross. 

proaching death. Thus there are many Christians who sigh, moan and weep, 
but without benefit to themselves, without fruit before God, because their sighs 
and tears have no reference to sin as an offence against God, but only to 
the evil consequences of sin. The repentance that proceeds from a hatred 
of sin and love of God is a true repentance, "but the sorrow of the world 
worketh death." — 2. Cor. 7 : 10. 

2. They were not efficacious. 

(a) The women of Jerusalem wept over Jesns, but we do not read that 
they made any exertions towards alleviating his misery or procuring him 
any comfort. The wife of Pilate, who urged her husband to liberate Jesus, 
Simon of Cyrene, who notwithstanding he carried the cross more from 
compulsion, than free will, Veronica who, offered him her veil, that he 
might wipe his face, which was covered with spittle, dust, perspiration and 
blood, all merit more praise than the women of Jerusalem. 

Application. The world affords many instances of such conduct as that 
of the women of Jerusalem. Occasionally men are aroused to a lively 
sense of the wrong they have done, and feel keenly the misery they have 
brought upon themselves by sin. A fleeting wish for something better and 
nobler animates them, they occasionally long to do right and resolve to 
amend their life. They weep and sorrowfully sigh over their transgressions. 
This indeed is good and proves that the seeds of repentance have been 
planted in the heart, but if they do nothing further, if they continue still to 
wallow in the mire of their gross and flagrant excesses, O ! believe me, 
the seed, far from fruitifying, will wither and die ; they do not renounce 
•sin and enter upon the way of penance, if they continue in the same in- 
difference and tepidity in the service of God, and if the same abuse of 
divine grace and the same love of the world find place in their soul, all their 
tears and sighs are of no profit ; their tears resemble blossoms which fall 
off before they develop the fruit, The tears must be followed by deeds, we 
must avoid what we bewail. See for example, all true penitents : Mary 
Magdalene, Peter, St. Margaret of Cortona. Weep, then, for your sins, 
you have reason to tremble at therecollection of them; but do not stop there, 
be not content with useless tears, bid farewell to sin, control your passions, 
root out your pernicious habits and do all that is necessary in order to 
amend your life. Only in such a way will your penance be pleasing to 
God. 

3. They were of short duration. 

(a) The tears of these women soon ceased to flow, they wept only while 
the sufferings of Jesus were vividly before them. The adage " out of sight, 



Eighth Station. 47 

out of mind," was only too soon verified in their regard. They left Mount 
Calvary, the scene of such sorrow and anguish, and no sooner had they 
turned away than their grief was a thing of the past. They laughed, jested, 
and resumed the ordinary routine of life, utterly forgetful of what they 
had seen. This, indeed, was most reprehensible. Tears and sorrow of 
such brief duration could not be pleasing to our Lord. More acceptable to 
him were the tears of St. Peter and St. Mary Magdalene, who never ceased 
to weep for their sins. 

Application. Therefore your sorrow for having offended God must 
endure while life remains, if not exteriorly, at least, interiorly, and each 
succeeding day must be marked by some penitential act. Christ demands 
this, saying : " Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee." He 
who repeats the sins of which he has repented, is no penitent, but a 
scoffer ; he who commits again the sins which he bewailed, runs the risk 
of being eternally rejected as a relapsing sinner ; for "no man putting his 
hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. " — 
Luke 9 ; 62. Only he whose feet never wander from the straight and 
narrow path, shall enter into the glory of heaven. Witnesses : All holy 
penitents. 

Part II. 

The Gospel says of Jesus on his way of the cross : ' ' There followed 
him a great multitude of people and of women; who bewailed and lamented 
him. But Jesus, turning to them, said : Daughters of Jerusalem, weep 
not over me ; but weep for yourselves and for your children. For, behold, 
the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the 
wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck. Then 
shall they begin to say to the mountains : Fall upon us : and to the hills : 
Cover us. For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be 
done in the dr) ? " — Luke 23 : 27-32. In these words the divine Saviour 
foretells an event, which would be so terrible that the lot of those barren 
women who were considered so unhappy would be preferable to that of 
the fruitful mothers whose homes were made glad by the voices of many 
children ; he prophesies an event of a nature so appalling that people 
would look upon even a sudden death as a blessed means by which to evade 
its horrors. Let us now consider how this prophecy of the Lord, 

1. Was fulfilled in Jerusalem. Thirty-eight years after the death of 
Christ the clamor of war is heard and the Roman General, Titus, with a 
great army appeared before the gates of Jerusalem, firmly determined to 
chastise the Jews for their continual sedition. The first thing he did was 
to cast a trench about the city, thus preventing those unhappy creatures 



48 The Way of the Cross. 

within its walls either from leaving, or receiving aid from without. In a few 
weeks the provisions in Jerusalem were consumed, and famine began to 
exercise its ravages so severely, that the inhabitants were reduced to the 
necessity of eating the most disgusting things. The gardens hitherto so 
fragrant with the perfume of the rarest flowers, so lovely in their arrange- 
ment, and so spacious in their dimensions, became in a short time like arid 
wastes without a blade of grass to greet the eye, Not the tiniest plant or 
shrub was left, everything was devoured by a people driven frantic by hun- 
ger. Mothers even ate their own offspring. The number of those that died 
of hunger and disease is estimated to be 600,000. Daily might be wit- 
nessed the terrible sight of dead bodies being hurled over the walls, for it 
became impossible to give them sepulture, and they were left to moulder 
and decay in the trenches, Five hundred prisoners were crucified every 
day in order to intimidate the inhabitants of Jerusalem to surrender. The 
wretched inhabitants resisted for five months, but their efforts to withstand 
their powerful assailants were vain, and in despair they hopelessly desisted. 
Thousands of the Jews fell by the swords of the furious Roman soldiers?- 
blood flowed in torrents through the streets of the city ; the city itself was 
pilaged and the temple set on fire. The massacre of the inhabitants appears 
to us to be exaggerated when we read the numbers, although the truth is 
verified by the concurrent testimonies of the Jewish and heathen historians 
who calculate the number of deaths from hunger, disease and the sword 
to be over a million. The entire city was reduced to ashes, and not a stone 
was left upon a stone. When Titus, after taking the city, rode among the 
ruins and saw the great number of dead he sighed and raised his hands 
toward heaven, saying : "lam innocent of this misery. It is the Lord 
who has done this, not I." Here we see fulfilled Christ's prophecy to the 
women of Jerusalem : " Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me ; but 
weep for yourselves and your children." 

2. Let us consider how this prophecy is fulfilled in impenitent sinners. 

(a) The impenitent sinner on his deathbed. Let us call up before us the 
terrible picture it presents. He has heaped sin upon sin during his past 
life, and the worm which never dies is gnawing at his heart, but alas ! it is 
remorse, not contrition. His dim eyes over which the film of death is 
already gathering behold the most frightful spectres turn whithersoever they 
will. Now it is the inspirations he has neglected, then the promises he has 
broken, and finally the many years now lost and gone forever, rush before 
his mind. He who shrank from reflection in the flush of health and strength, 
now can meditate on the past and the present. Where are the companions 
of his pleasures, the friends who flattered and encouraged him in his evil 
ways ? They have abandoned him ! He cries and moans, a cold sweat is steal- 
ing over him, his breath is failing, he frequently faints away. He lies there 



Eighth Station. 



49 



forsaken by the world, whose delights he can no longer promote, in pains 
too great for his undisciplined heart to endure he tosses from side 
to side. It is the agony of death ! His eyes, at last, open to the 
truth of eternity, of which, during his life, he made but little account, 
and he sighs with Antiochus : "Into how much tribulation am I 
come, and into what floods of sorrow, wherein now I am : I that was 
pleasant and beloved in my power." — i. Mach. 6 : n. Glancing into 
the future, terror seizes his unhappy soul, Tor dawning faith tells him : "The 
death of the wicked is very evil." — Ps. 33 : 22. He exclaims : "How I 
have misspent my life ! What will become of me in a few moments ! And 
disturbed by confusion, fear and despair his soul departs from the body 
to appear with empty hands before his Judge. St. Gregory the Great re- 
lates the following of a certain Chrysontius, who was a man of great wealth 
but of very bad morals, and who had spent his life in entire forgetfulness 
of God and eternity. Sickness came upon him at last, and when he lay 
terrified at the near approach of his last hour, he cried to the evil spirits who 
visibly appeared to him in order to snatch him away : " Give me time, give 
me time till to-morrow ! " But they said : "You fool, you beg for time 
now, you had plenty of time but you misused it to your own destruction,. 
time is no longer yours. The wretch ceased not to cry and begged for 
help. One of his sons, named Maximus, being with him at the time, 
Chrysontius cried out to him : "My son, help me, Maximus, help me ! "' 
Whilst writhing in contortions and wailing like a despairing man, he 
breathed his last. Such is the unhappy death of the impenitent sinner. 

(b) And what awaits him after death P How will that unfortunate soul 
tremble, what inexpressible anguish, when separating from the body, it be- 
holds legions of horrible demons waiting with horrid eagerness to drag it 
with them to hell, with its tortures and flames. It will strive to re-enter 
the body, but in vain, an invisble power urges it forward and places it 
before the judgment-seat of God. O who can describe the anguish of 
the soul at that terrible moment ! WTien our first parents heard the voice 
of God speaking to them in paradise after they had sinned, they did not 
tremble as much as the sinner now trembles before the eternal Judge. He 
must now give an account of the sins he has committed during the whole 
course of his life, those sins equal in number to the grains of sand which. 
lie scattered along the shores of the sea, of the good he has neglected to do ; 
the graces he has abused, the scandals he has given, the souls he has ruined, 
in short, of everything whereby he has offended God. What will he do ? 
Will he defend himself? Alas ! no, he is silent. Now the Judge pro- 
nounces sentence upon him : Depart from- me, you cursed, into everlast- 
ing fire, which is prepared for the devil and his associates ! What a thun- 
bolt for the sinner ! He is to depart forever from God, to be for ever 
excluded from heaven* he is to depart into everlasting fire, where in 



50 The Way of the Cross. 

company of the evil spirits and of the damned, he will be tormented for all 
eternity. The sentence is passed, the instant that reveals it sees its fulfill- 
ment ; the demons rush with a mad fury, like tigers fiercely wrangling for 
their prey, and fall upon the lost spirit to hurl it into the terrible abyss of 
the damned where it will suffer nameless torments, as long as God shall be 
God, for an eternity which will never end. Such is the end of the impeni- 
tent sinner, more terrible than that of the Jews at the destruction of Jeru- 
salem. 

PERORATION. 

We may also apply to ourselves the words of Christ : ' ' Daughters of 
Jerusalem, weep not over me : but weep for yourselves and your children. " 
They were spoken for all men of all times, that by a speedy and thorough 
repentance they may avail themselves of the proffered graces and escape 
eternal perdition. Let us prostrate ourselves before Jesus at the Eighth 
Station, bewail our sins and pray with a contrite and humble heart : O 
Jesus, who shall give water to our head, and a torrent of tears to our eyes 
that day and night we may bewail our sins ! We beg thee through thy 
bitter and bloody tears to give us the grace of tears and to soften our 
hearts in such a manner, that in bitter sorrow we may bewail thy suffer- 
ings and our sins all the days of our life. Amen. 



NINTH STATION 



JESUS FALLS BENEATH THE CROSS THE THIRD TIME. 

" He fell flat on the ground. — Mark 14 ; 35. 

The words which Jesus spoke to the weeping women of Jerusalem on 
his painful journey to Calvary's Mount, were the last warning he gave the 
Jews for their conversion. Once more he placed before their eyes the terri- 
ble judgments of God, which would be visited upon them, if they did not 
bring forth fruits worthy of penance. Had they been mindful of this final 
warning, had they believed in the Saviour, they would have found mercy, 
and Jerusalem would not have been destroyed. "The Lord beareth pa- 
tiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should 
return to penance ;" (2. Pet. 3:9,) but the Jews remained obdurate. So 
far from responding to the loving words of Christ, a torrent of blasphemy 
poured forth from their lips as they hurried him on to Mount Calvary. He 



Ninth Station. 51 

had, with painful efforts, almost gained the summit, when, as the spot 
chosen for his crucifixion, rose to view, he faltered and fell a third time 
to the earth. This enraged the brutal soldiers, and excited them to the 
verge of madness. They dragged the Son of God from the ground, and 
with fresh insults, goaded him and bade him go on with his heavy and 
wearisome load. Let us look at the Ninth Station, which bears the inscrip- 
tion : Jesus falls beneath the cross the third time, and consider, that this fall 
was occasioned, 

I. By the ill-treatment of his enemies, and 
II. By the fear of approaching death. 

Part I. 

Our divine Saviour fell beneath the cross the third time on account of the 
ill-treatment which he received at the hands of his ene?nies on his way to Cal- 
'vary. Who can adequately describe this ill-treatment and abuse? The cruel 
scourging had accomplished its end only too well, and the crown of thorns 
fulfilled its mission of torture as fully as malice could have hoped, yet 
those wretches will allow their divine victim no rest. He is compelled to 
walk under the weight of a cross so heavy that a man in the full flush of 
health might well have hesitated to carry it, even a few steps. Nay, with 
help even none would have borne it up Calvary's steep and rugged ascent, 
for the path to that sacred spot is hard, and in every sense a dolorous way. 
It would have been arduous enough for Christ to have ascended without 
any load, and behold, he has to carry the heavy load of the cross. One 
would naturally think that the Jews and the soldiers would have treated 
him humanely and rendered the carriage of the cross as easy as possible for 
him. But no, their hearts seem to have lost the last spark of human feel- 
ing, they scoff at the thought of affording him the slightest alleviation, so 
far from even giving him sympathy, they strive to strew more thorns in his 
path to the Mount. When worn out with fatigue he would fain seek but a 
few moments rest, their curses and blasphemies are terrible to hear, and 
like a beast of burden they drive him onward with kicks and blows. When, 
overcome by weakness, he falls to the ground he dare not remain, they 
drag him up and goad him onward, and he has scarcely risen from his fall 
when he must again take the cross upon his mangled shoulders. Not con- 
tented with this, in their malice they add many other injuries. With the 
rope fastened about his loins they pull him hither and thither, strike his 
cheeks with their fists, and jostle the crown so that the long, sharp thorns 
pierce more deeply into his sacred head ; some shake the cross, others 
stand on the end that touches the ground, that the load may become heavier 
and the pressure greater. What he endured on his way to Calvary sur- 



52 The Way of the Cross. 

passes our comprehension, but we shall be amazed, when it will be made 
manifest to us on the day of judgment. We need not, therefore, wonder 
that Jesus fell the third time beneath the weight of the cross. 

2. Application. Our life here below is also a way of the cross, we have 
many enemies who frequently cause our fall. 

(a) Who are these enemies ? The world, the flesh, and the devil is & 
dangerous enemy, for it hates God and abhors all that is good, casts many 
snares for us by its representations, bad examples and scandals and 
is ever on the alert in various ways to entice us from the service of God. 
And when it adds to the number of its votaries it loves to clothe each new 
captive in the livery of its slaves. St. John warns us against it when he 
writes : " Love not the world nor those things which are in the world. If 
any man love the world the charity of the Father is not in him. For alt 
that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence 
of the eyes, and the pride of life." — i. John 2:15, 16. The flesh or con- 
cupiscence, a result of original sin, has for its object to lure man from "the 
things which are above " to gross and sensual delights, so that the way of 
virtue seems rude and hard, and that of sin so pleasant that he lingers 
therein. It is, alas the heritage of which Holy Writ thus discourses, 
"the imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from 
his youth."— Gen. 8 : 21. And: "Every man is tempted, drawn away 
by his own concupiscence." — James 1 : 14. The foe who, however, 
works most ruin to mankind is the devil, his most dangerous enemy 
is Satan. He would rejoice to draw the whole world from the service 
of God. So envious is the fiend that we can gain the heaven that he 
has lost. He constantly seeks to ruin our souls. He it was who in the- 
guise of a serpent tempted our first parents to sin, and has ever since been the 
sworn enemy of man. He seduced men to the most abominable idolatry 
and the most shameless vices, yea, even presumed to approach Christ him- 
self and thrice dared to tempt the Son of God. St. Peter calls him a roar- 
ing lion who goes about seeking whom he may devour. — 1. Pet. 5 : 8. 
And St. Paul writes : "Put you on the armor of God, that you may be able 
to stand against the snares of the devil. For our wrestling is not against 
flesh and blood ; but against principalities and powers ; against the rulers 
of the world of this darkness ; against the spirits of wickedness in the high, 
places." — Ephes. 6 : 11, 12. 

(b) What means must we employ that these enemies may not cause our 
fall} Particularly these two : Watchfulness and prayer, according to the 

admonition of Christ : "Watch ye, and pray, that you may not enter into 
temptation. The spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh weak.'"" — Matt 



Ninth Station. 53 

26 : 41. We must watch, that is, exercise constant vigilance as to all that 
passes within and without us that we may perceive the first shadow of peril, 
and guard against the dark waves of danger that encompass and threaten 
to overwhelm our soul. By neglecting this vigilance, and failing to co- 
operate with the inspirations of God, a soul which has been the object of 
his favors, may nevertheless be lost. He who relying on his former dispo- 
sitions does not carefully watch over himself will soon fall into sin. David, 
because he failed to guard his eyes, committed the heinous sins of murder 
and adultery. Dina imprudently entered the city of Sichem, and lost her 
innocence ; Peter, yielding to a fatal curiosity, gains entrance to a place 
where he encounted a wicked crowd, and what followed ? He cruelly denied 
Christ. How many there may be among us, who for the want of vigilance 
have grievously sinned ? Instead of banishing the very shadow of that sinful 
thought, you were careless and what followed ? Complacency, and com- 
placency gave way to delectation, delectation to consent, consent to grati- 
fication. Remember that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and that 
the saints never reached the glory of canonization without one long effort 
which never ceased on earth. The salvation of man depends upon vigilance 
and co-operation with grace. In the practice of virtue you can never say 
with certainty that you will be faithful to-morrow because you have been 
faithful to-day. One unfortunate occasion is sufficient to cause your 
eternal ruin. Therefore watch, that you enter not into temptation. Life 
is a warfare — Ah ! justly may it be looked upon as one constant tempta- 
tion — a perpetual battle wherein there is no truce. Remember, then, that 
watchful prudence, circumspection and prayer are necessary if we wish not 
to be led into temptation. 

(c) We must pray. When through prayer we fervently implore God's 
grace, our divine Lord, imparts to us those interior lights which so illumine 
the inmost recesses of the soul that we at once recognize the cunning 
assaults of our spiritual enemies and obtain strength to resist them with 
determination. St. Augustine says: "As long as you pray you may be 
assured that the divine mercy will not fail to come to your succor. And 
St. Chrysostom says : "The roar of the lion does not drive away the wild 
beast, as does the prayer of the just man all enemies." We read that the 
solitaries of the olden time were one day called upon to assemble from 
their cells in the desert of Egypt that each might give his opinion as to 
the exercise most essential for every Christian in order to obtain 
eternal salvation. They unanimously agreed that it was none other than 
fervent, persevering prayer. Hence they resolved, that each of them 
should often say with David: "O God, come to my assistance ; O Lord, 
make haste to help me." — Ps. 69 : 2. Be fervent, then, in prayer, and do 
not omit to cry to God for help in every temptation, that you may not 
fall. 



54 The Way of the Cross. 

Part II. 

Another reason why Jesus fell the third time beneath the cross was with- 
out doubt the agony he suffered at the thought of the approach of death. 

i. There is deeply implanted in man an inherent terror of death, be- 
cause the separation caused by death between the soul and the body is so 
unnatural . When God created man he munificently intended to endow 
him with immortality both of body and soul. He placed him in the gar- 
den of paradise where he might have lived in perfect happiness, and when 
his time had come he would have been translated body and soul into heaven 
without tasting the bitterness of death. Death is a consequence of and a 
punishment for, an act of disobedience against the law of God. It is not 
a blessing but an evil, and even those who have led holy lives tremble at 
the thought of crossing the dark river which leads to the eternal shore. 
St. Arsenius on his death-bed was seized with a fear so great that his dis- 
ciples who knew well how faithfully he had labored in the service 
of his Master, said to him: "And you, too, O! father?" they ex- 
claimed ; "do you shudder at the near approach of death?" But he said 
to them : "Yes, children, this is no new fear, I have feared this hour all 
the days of my life." Since Jesus Christ was not only God, but also man, 
and as man wished to suffer and die, is it natural that he, too, experienced 
the terrors of death, and so much the more as by his omniscience he fore- 
saw what a painful death was awaiting him. Let us consider this a little 
more minutely in the Ninth Station. Under abuses the most horrible and 
sufferings the most intense he had arrived almost at the summit of Calvary 
and reached the spot where he was to be crucified. At a few paces from 
him he sees workmen drill a hole into the rock for his cross. Each harrow- 
ing detail of the preparations for the last terrible scene are present to his 
view,, he beholds the vast throng impatiently waiting for his approach. 
And as he draws near, crowned with thorns, and blood trickling fast to the 
ground, they cry : "He is coming — we shall not have long to wait — we 
can witness his death ! " In this moment all the tortures and sufferings that 
•accompany that death are vividly presented to his mind. He beholds the 
rude mob looking on while his tormentors tear off his clothing and present 
him almost naked to the jeers of the crowd He sees how they stretch 
him on the hard bed of the cross, how his hands and feet are extended 
and cruelly pierced through with nails, he sees how the cross is erected 
and fastened in the opening, how he hangs upon it for three hours in the 
utmost abandonment and a sea of suffering, how he, finally bows his head 
and dies. Who can picture even faintly the anguish of the meek Saviour 
at the representation of all these circumstances of his Passion and death. 
If, when death's dark shadow rose but dimly before him in the garden of 
Olives, the thought could force drops of blood from every pore of his sacred 



Ninth Station. 55 

body, and cause him to cry out in his anguish : "My soul is sorrowful 
even unto death, " how much more agonizing must have been his terror at 
its near approach ! Can we wonder that no strength is left him and that he 
falls to the ground beneath the weight of the cross ? 

2. Application. Let us sympathize with our Redeemer, sorrowful unto 
death, and lying prostrate on the ground ; but let us also reflect upon 
our own condition, and try to present vividly to our minds the truth that our 
last hour is fast approaching, and that sooner or later it will come. 
O ! supreme moment of death which decides our eternal fate ! 

(a) For time. As long as we live the salvation of our soul is in our own 
hands, we can lay up a treasure of merits for heaven and prepare ourselves 
for eternity. Even if we have the misfortune to forfeit the grace of God 
by mortal sin, there is rescue in store for us, we need only seek pardon at 
the tribunal of mercy to find grace and forgiveness with a merciful God. 
But when the last breath has left our pale lips, and we lie cold and still in 
death, alas ! closed for us are the portals of grace, forever closed, 'tis too 
late, we cannot enter in ! The moment we are no more the words of St. 
John in the Apocalyse apply to us : ' ' The angel lifted up his hands to 
heaven and he swore by him that liveth for ever and ever : That time 
shall be no more.'' — Apoc. 10 : 5, 6. O what an important thing it is to 
die ! And yet there are Christians whose lives are one constant whirl of 
dissipation, and who acting as if they were to live on earth forever, give 
no thought to their eternal salvation, and who never trouble themselves 
about dying. How negligent they are in doing good ! They squander away 
the "acceptable season,'"' they turn with indifference from the devotions 
held during the ecclesiastical year, they care not for prayer either public or 
private, and when they do pray, it is with the utmost indifference and a 
want of fervor that renders their prayers rather an insult than an act of 
homage to God. The reading of a spiritual book is to them an intolerable 
task, and they avoid, when, they can do so, listening to the word of God 
in church. They allow months, nay, even years to pass without confes- 
sion and Communion. They have so many opportunities to put their con- 
science in order and to reconcile themselves to God by a good confession, 
but they suffer these opportunities to pass until finally ' ' the night cometh in 
which no man can work " and they realize what a bitter thing it to lose 
the Lord, their God. How can I anticipate, how can I describe their feel- 
ings in the other world ! What untold misery lies hidden in those mournful 
words. Alas ! of what folly have I been guilty ! In my life I had long 
series of years, in which I might have become a saint, but I would not. 
Preparation for a good death was the last thought which ever presented 
itself to my mind, and now I have no time to atone for any neglect and 
to save my soul. 



56 The Way of the Cross. 

(b) For eternity. ' ' If the tree fall to the south, or to the north, in what 
place soever it shall fall there shall it be." — Eccles. 11 : 3. In eternity 
there is no change, in what state soever man dies, in that will he remain 
forever. It is now more than five thousand years since the death of the 
fratricide Cain. Because he persevered in his impenitence to the last, he 
was damned and has been burning in hell for over five thousand years. Dur- 
ing all this long time there has been no day, no hour, no moment in which 
his situation has been changed, or his sufferings been, in the least, inter- 
rupted or mitigated. How excruciating must have been the torture he has 
endured during all these long series of years, but after five thousand years 
more have elapsed, nay, after millions and millions of years have passed, his 
lot and the lot of all the damned will still be the same, ever the same tor- 
ments, the same hopelessness, the same despair. What a terrible state ! But 
the destiny of the blessed is, also, unalterable. Over eighteen hundred years 
have passed away since when St. Peter and St. Paul gave up their lives for 
Christ, the portals of heaven opened wide to receive them. Who can de- 
scribe the joy, the happiness which these Apostles have enjoyed without any 
interruption as century after century rolled by ! And who can form an 
adequate idea of the joy and happiness which they with all the elect shall 
continue to enjoy throughout the ages to come — for all eternity, without 
any interruption. O how much depends on death, on that last moment of 
our life, which holds within its depths our fate for all eternity! On it depends 
our happiness or misery for an endless eternity. Do you believe in your im- 
pending fate? Why then do you live as if you were never to die? What 
folly it is for the sake of a wretched momentary pleasure in this life to run 
the risk of dying a miserable death and commencing a life of misery that will 
never terminate. Remember Lot's wife. Remember death ; it is certain ; 
prepare for it that you may escape a miserable eternity. 

PERORATION. 

O ! then ponder often upon death, and forget not to go down in thought 
to the narrow home, the last resting place of the dead. Behold the havoc 
wrought by the crawling worms of corruption ! O ! it will then be an 
easy task to give up the world, and its allurements and to ward off the 
shadow of sin ere it fall upon your soul. The frequent and oft-renewed 
remembrance of death will be to you a shield, from which all the arrows 
of your spiritual enemies will rebound, especially if you are watchful and 
invoke God's help in very temptation. But because you ha^e hitherto 
failed to do this on many occasions, and have, therefore, sinned grievously, 
prostrate yourself before Jesus in the Ninth Station and full of sorrow and 
compunction of heart, pray: O most merciful Jesus, we thank thee, that thou 
didst not permit us to die in our sins, nor bury us as we have deserved, in 
the abyss of hell. We beseech thee by the merits of this thy third most 



Tenth Station. 57 

painful fall, to pardon our frequent relapses and our long continuance in 
sin ; and may the thought of these thy sufferings make us detest our sins 
more and more thoroughly, and persevere in good to the end. Amen. 



TENTH STATION 



JESUS IS STRIPT OF HIS GARMENTS. 

' ' They have parted my garments among them ; and upon my vesture they have 
cast lots. " — John 19 .- 24. 

When Jesus Christ had fallen beneath the cross the third time, when 
he lay there, faint and exhausted, an object of derision and reproach, 
it seemed as though he would lie prostrate till death despoiled his captors 
of their prey. But he did not die, the immeasurable depth of his love for 
ns made him desire to suffer still more, he wished to die the most ignomin- 
ious death of the cross, therefore, with one mighty effort he arose from his 
painful position, and took the cross upon his shoulders ; his love gave him 
strength to carry it till he reached the place where he was to be nailed to 
it. He stands upon Calvary, on that mountain which is connected with 
Mount Moria, on which Isaac, his prototype, was to be slaughtered; 
on that mountain where our first parent Adam, as Origen and St. Athana- 
sius relate, is buried ; on that mountain where the head of the infernal 
serpent is to be crushed, sin blotted out, and divine justice satisfied by a 
superabundant satisfaction. "And they came to a place that is called Gol- 
gotha, which is the place of Calvary. " — Matt. 27: 33. Let us consider at 
this Station : 

I. The corporal denudation of Jesus Christ, and 
II. The spiritual denudation of the Christian. 

Part I. 

When our divine Saviour had reached the spot where he was to be cruci- 
fied, he was stript of his garments, and oh ! 

1. With what great pain! 

, (a) According to the Roman law, the malefactors who were con- 
demned to the death of crucifixion were to be deprived of their garments, 



58 The Way of the Cross. 

and the soldiers who executed the sentence received them as their portion. 
Christ too, who, in every respect, was treated as the greatest malefactor, 
had to submit to this law. The soldiers then began to strip him of his gar- 
ments. With rude haste they first tore off the cloak under which our divine 
Saviour wore a seamless garment, tightly fitting his body. This had been 
the work of his dear mother, a labor of love for her beloved Son. This 
garment was only open at the throat and had to be drawn over the head. 
But now however this could never be accomplished on account 
of the great crown whose thorns still pressed deep into his head. 
The crown of thorns, therefore, had to be first removed. How 
painful this must have been to Jesus ! If we draw out a splinter which 
has penetrated somewhat deeply into the flesh how hard to bear the suffer- 
ing that ensues ! How intense then must have been the torture of our 
divine Saviour, when the long, sharp thorns which had penetrated deeply 
into his head, and had remained there, were drawn out. Meditate on the 
indescribable agonies which our Lord thus endured, and at the same time 
think of the unchaste thoughts and desires with which you have so often 
wounded his sorrowful heart. Ah ! on account of these shameless thoughts 
and desires the most holy head of our Lord has been so painfully tortured 
by the crown of thorns and its removal. From the very depths of your 
heart deplore these sins ; and resolve henceforth to fight against and banish 
all impure thoughts and desires, that you may not contaminate your con- 
science with sin. 

(b) Having removed the crown of thorns, the soldiers began to strip him 
of his clothes. His whole body was mangled and full of wounds and 
blood, his garment adhered to it, especially to his lacerated shoulders and 
back, for it was there that the rough wood of the cross had pressed most 
heavily. How unprecedented must have been the pain caused when they 
tore away this garment from our Lord. The lightest touch would have 
caused a smart, picture if you can the agony consequent on its being 
cruelly pulled over his head. The narrative of the martyrdom of St. Bar- 
tholomew, and of other martyrs, who were flayed alive, is so thrilling that the 
very thought of such torture causes a shudder. But no less painful was 
the torture which Christ endured when he was stript of his clothes, which 
adhered to every part of his body, and by which operation pieces of skin 
and flesh were torn off, and his wounds renewed, and made to bleed 
afresh. 

O ! then take deeply to heart the sufferings of your Redeemer, and 
shun all effeminacy of the flesh and sins of lust, for it was on account of these 
sins of effeminancy that Christ had to endure what was so abhorrent to his 
feelings, to be stript naked before the gazes of an immense multitude of 
people. Whenever you are tempted to impurity, the sight of that divine 



Tenth Station. 59 

Victim whose raiment was so cruelly taken away, and who stands, a pleading, 
wounded dove, should banish the vile thought from your heart 



2 . With what great ignominy ! 

(a) Innate and deeply implanted in the human heart is the feeling which 
ranks modesty and decorum amongst the highest obligations. It impels 
every one with proper self-respect to endure any thing rather than per- 
mit any improper uncovering of his person. Even the Gentiles had this 
feeling of modesty, for Plutarch relates that in a certain city of Greece 
suicide had, at one time, become so prevalent among the female sex that the 
authorities no longer knew how to put a stop to it. They finally passed an 
ordinance that the bodies of the suicides should be stript naked, exposed 
to the public gaze and burnt. This ordinance was successful, for no sooner 
was it publicly proclaimed, than the terrible mania for suicide died away. 
All shuddered at the punishment of being exposed naked to public view. 
The pagans even, who were given to the most abominable debaucheries, 
awarded the most exalted place to the virtue of modesty. And how dear, 
how precious was it not esteemed by the early Christians. They would 
rather endure the greatest tortures and the most cruel death, than the 
ignominy of being stript naked. No matter how fiercely the execu- 
tioners might torture them, their first care was to avoid the least inde- 
corum in this regard. St. Perpetua, a noble Roman lady, over whose head 
but twenty brief years had passed, was hurled to the ground by a wild 
cow, which rushed at her in a terrible rage. Almost dead she perceived that 
the angry beast had torn the covering from her side with its horns. But 
even in her extremity she quickly drew her robe together, thus carefully 
guarding her modesty in death. Now you can form some faint idea of the 
pain which the Sacred Heart of Jesus felt when the rude soldiers tore off 
his clothing, and in a state of nakedness exposed him to the curious gaze 
of an immense multitude. Sorrowfully he looked to the ground and 
I sighed : "Thou, (O Lord), knowest my reproach, and my confusion, and 
my 



shame."— Ps. 68: 20. 



(5) It is the opinion of spiritual writers that our Lord took upon himself 
this ignominy of nakedness especially on account of the abominable vice of 
impurity. ' ' When a man, " says a Father of the Church, ' ' yields to pride, it is 
a man indeed that sins, but he sins like an angel ; when he succumbs to 
avarice, it is a man indeed that sins, but he sins like a man ; but if he 
gives himself up to impurity, he does not sin as an angel or a man, but as a 
beast." O what a detestable vice is impurity, since it so deeply degrades 
man, who is created to the likeness of God, placing him upon a level with 
the brute creatures. 



60 The Way of the Cross. 

Part II. 

The corporal denudation of Jesus Christ serves as a lesson to us, that we 
must spiritually denude ourselves if we wish to be his true followers, and 
with him to possess the eternal joys of heaven. Wherein does this spirit- 
ual denudation consist ? In this, that we divest ourselves — 

i. Of all love of sin. It suffices not to refrain from the actual commis- 
sion of sin ; we must have no voluntary inclination to it ; we must hate 
and destest all evil from our heart. God regards the heart, the seat of love 
or hatred. As long as the love of evil holds sway within our heart we 
displease him, although externally we may do nothing wrong. Everything 
depends upon the internal justice, without it, all exercises of virtue and 
good works are as a shell without a kernel, tinsel without value. He who, 
for instance, does not commit the vice of impurity in deed, but loves it 
and would commit it if he had an opportunity, or entertains with pleasure 
unchaste representations and desires, is anything but chaste before God ; 
on the contrary, he is to be numbered among the unchaste, and, unless his 
sinful mind and disposition become thoroughly changed, he can hope for 
nothing after death, but to be cast into the fire of hell. 

Reflect how matters stand with you. Have you put off the old man, 
all perverse will, all love for sin, as you put off a garment? Can you 
say in truth, evil is abhorrent to my soul, and my only joy is in that which 
is good ; my heart, my whole undivided heart belongs to God. If you can 
in all sincerity make this assertion, O ! happy beyond measure are you ! 
You are on the path which will inevitably lead to heaven ! and its portals 
will be open to receive you when you die. But sad indeed and deplorable 
would it be for you, if you still cherished your evil desires, and still turned 
your will away from God ; for should you persevere in your perverse 
inclinations, you could not be saved. 

2. All inordinate love of the world. A soldier who in the faithful service 
which, for many years, he had rendered his prince left no time for the one 
thing necessary, when, one day, sickness stood at his door, leading Death. 
The prince, who was very much attached to him, visited him on his death- 
bed and bade him ask any favor of him he desired. The sick man replied that 
the prince, in recompense for the many years during which his chief thought 
riad been to promote the royal interests, should obtain for him the grace 
either to escape death, or to be relieved of his terrible pains for at least an 
hour, and, finally, after leaving this world, to be admitted into heaven. The 
prince, with tears in his eyes, said: "My dear friend, to grant you this 
favor is not in my power." The soldier sorrowfully sighed ; "In vain 
have I labored, in vain have I served you so long. Had I served my God 
as long and faithfully as I have served my prince, he would give me heaven 



Tenth Station. 6i 

as a recompense. Alas ! of what great folly have I been guilty, that I have 
spent my years and have made no provision for my soul, for a happy eter- 
nity." Alas ! how many Christians who have lived many years in the world, 
and have not spent them for God, will, like this soldier, bitterly regret the 
time they have squandered without any regard for their souls. All the 
time that has not been spent for God is lost time. They are now attached 
to the world and to worldly things, they are enamored with them, they 
hardly ever think of the affair of their salvation. From time to time they 
have a few transitory desires of conversion, but delay their repentance un- 
til their death-bed, and only resolve to abandon sin when sin has aban- 
doned them, when they are no longer able to commit it, and thus their 
case is as hopeless as that of the soldier. If, however, a worldly advan- 
tage is to be gained, they are all life and activity, they spare no labor, no 
pains, whereas in the service of God the least sacrifice seems so enormous 
that they make none. They omit their morning and evening prayers, 
neglect to hear the word of God on Sundays and hoiydays, and to receive 
the Sacraments, they never enter into themselves and never ask themselves 
■whether the way they go leads to heaven or to hell. There can be only one 
result from all this. Their hearts become so infatuated with the world that 
they utterly cast aside all care for their souls. With the most heinous sins 
they walk serenely through life until death brings them torments of endless 
duration in the fiery prison of hell — 

Beware, then, of being ruled by the love of the world. Consider the 
words of Christ : " What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, 
and lose his own soul. " — Matt. 16 : 26. What folly would it be, if, for 
the sake of such fleeting, vain, worldly goods, you would plunge yourselves 
into eternal perdition! Walk in the path trodden by the many who now 
shine forth, glorious Saints in the realms of the blessed. God's holy service, 
and their eternal salvation were their most important affairs whilst on 
earth. "Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity, besides loving God and 
serving him alon-i. It is the highest wisdom to despise the world and to 
tend to heavenly kingdoms. It is vanity to seek after riches which must 
perish, it is vanity to be ambitious of honors, it is vanity to follow the lusts 
of the flesh, it is vanity to mind only this present life, and not to look for- 
ward unto those things which are to come. It is vanity to love that 
which passes with all speed, and not to hasten thither where everlasting 
joy remains." — Imit. Christ, book 1, ch. 1. Think not however that it 
is forbidden to exercise a due amount of care in acquiring the goods of this 
world. No! but all else must be subservient to the salvation of your soul. 
You must render everything else subordinate to this. As the sunflower 
never swerves from the direction where it can bask in the vivifying rays of 
the sun, so let the Christian constantly turn his gaze to that bright home 
above, the abode of the blessed and always be guided by the thought of 



62 The Way of the Cross. 

what is eternal. Shun, therefore, everything injurious to the salvation of 
your soul, and avail yourselves of temporal goods in such a way that you 
may still gain everlasting bliss. 

3. All inordinate self-love, which consists in seeking agreeable and 
sensual things, in gratifying the passions and leading an easy life. Christ 
demands self-denial and mortification of his followers: "If any man will 
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow 
me." — Matt. 16: 24. The Apostle also writes: "They who are Christ's, 
have crucified their flesh with the vices and concupiscences." — Gal. 5: 24. 
He, therefore, who has put off inordinate self-love, subjects his body to 
mortifications and denies it everything that could entice it to lust and unfit 
him for the service of God. Thus St. Paul chastised his body, and brought 
it into the subjection of the spirit, that after having preached to others, he, 
himself, might not become a cast away. — 1. Cor. 9: 27. St. Francis of 
Assisium led a very mortified life. The earth was generally his bed, he 
slept in a sitting posture, the head resting upon a piece of wood or stone. 
What he ate was seldom cooked, he never drank anything else than water, 
and even that in the smallest quantity, let the heat be ever so oppressive. 
Our Lord does not ask such austerity from us, but nothing can release us 
from the duty of avoiding whatever is sinful and prohibited, and turning 
from whatever might entice us to sin. To crush down this most inveterate 
enemy, inordinate self-love, it is also necessary to deny our own will, 
and cheerfully to comply with all that God requires of us and to which 
obedience obliges us. If we have freed ourselves of all inordinate self-love, 
we will be truly humble, will not seek the praise of men, prefer to be 
rather last than first, yield to the will of others, and when obedience demands 
of us a sacrifice, let not one murmur escape our lips. 

PERORATION. 

Herein consists the spiritual denudation of the Christian. We must put 
off all love of sin by the renovation of our mind and the amendment of our 
heart, put off all inordinate love of the world by the contempt of all earthly 
things and an earnest solicitude for what is eternal, divest ourselves of all 
inordinate self-love by the mortification of all sensuality and self-will. 
True, this spiritual divesting is something more than the idle play of 
children with their gilded toys. The path to it is weary, and often hard, 
but we can arrive thereat, for with God's grace we can do all things. Con- 
sider the Saints who have accomplished this spiritual denudation, and let 
their example stimulate us to imitation. Let us look at Jesus in the Tenth 
Station, and consider the pains and ignominy which he suffered when his 
clothes were torn from his body, that we may not despise the difficulties 
connected with our spiritual denudation. "Yes, O Jesus, may we put off 



Eleventh Station. 63 

the old man and put on the new, who is according to thy pleasure, wish 
and will. Though it should be hard for us, we will not spare our flesh; 
divested of all earthly things, and attached to thee alone, we desire to die, 
that we may live eternally with thee. " Amen. 



ELEVENTH STATION. 



JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS. 

" They crucified him." — Luke 23: 33. 

Amid a scene of confusion, and almost fainting, behold ! Jesus has gained 
the summit of the mount. His executioners are preparing for the 
last dread sacrifice, the time for the crucifixion has come. Having 
dug a hole on the top of Mount Calvary, they carried the cross to 
the spot where they intended to crucify Jesus and placed it in such 
position that the cavity they had prepared for it would only too readily 
receive the heavy load which he had borne through the hot streets und up 
the weary hill. Ah ! there it lay, the hard rough bed of the cross, whilst 
scattered around were the various instruments selected for the torture of 
our Lord. The hammers, the ropes, the nails, carefully guarded by those 
brutal murderers, who were less like rational beings than fiends. The very 
air was polluted with their blasphemies. Rendered still more ferocious 
by drink and scarcely half clothed, they gloated over their terrible task. 
They had brought a vase containing vinegar and gall, a mixture which 
looked like wine, and which was given to malefactors before executing the 
sentence of death that they might not feel the approaching tortures, and to 
smooth the painful pathway to death. They offered it to our Lord, 
he tasted it, but would not drink; (Matt. 2j, 34) for he wished to die 
without the least mitigation of the pains of death. Now begins the most 
.horrid tragedy which the world has ever witnessed, the Crucifixion of Christ 
The Eleventh Station, Jesus is nailed to the cross. Let us consider 

I. Tlie nailing of his hands, and 
II. The 7iaili?ig of his feet, to the cross. 



64 The Way of the Cross. 

Part I. 

Jesus had suffered much on his journey to Mount Calvary, but inde- 
scribably greater are the sufferings that still await him. Let us consider, 

i. The naifaig of his hands. 

(a) His murderers then imperiously commanded Jesus to place his 
wounded form upon the cross. They had rudely pulled it from his 
shoulders and placed it in such position that they might easily nail him 
thereupon. Jesus, patient as a lamb, which is dumb before its shearer, 
(Is. 53: 7) extends his sacred body on the cross. Hard was his bed 
when as a child of poverty he came into the world; for a crib was his cradle, 
and hay and straw his bed; hard was his bed in the days of his earthly life, 
for he had not, as he himself assures us, where to lay his head, but 
infinitely harder is his bed now, when he lies down to die. Jesus is placed 
on the cross; and why P O! for a few brief moments will he not repose his 
weary limbs ? The poorest vagrant, weary and footsore, casts down his 
bundle, in the sultry summer noon, and rests for awhile upon the soft cool 
grass. Ah ! no ! our divine Lord seeks no rest, he is placed upon the cross 
that the cruel nails may do their work. "Stretch forth your hands that 
we may thrust deep therein these sharp and pointed nails." And the meek 
lamb of God, the powerful Lord of heaven and earth complied with the 
cruel request. Seizing his right arm they dragged it to the hole -prepared 
for the nail, and having tied it tightly down with a cord, one of them dared 
to kneel upon his sacred chest, a second held his hand flat, and a third 
eagerly sought for a nail longer and sharper than the rest, pressed it on the 
open palm of that adorable hand, which had ever been ready to bestow 
blessings and favors upon the ungrateful Jews, and with a great iron ham- 
mer drove the point with such force into the flesh, that it went far into the 
wood of the cross. One agonizing moan half escaped those quivering lips, 
whilst his precious blood streamed, unheeded upon the arms of the exe- 
cutioners. The size of the nails employed in fastening our Lord to the 
cross was unusually large, the heads about the size of a silver dollar, and 
the thickness, that of a man's thumb, while the points came through at the 
back of the cross. When the executioners had nailed the right hand of our 
Lord, seeing that his left did not reach the hole they had bored to receive 
the nail, they violently seized his left arm and steadied their feet against the 
cross, whilst they pulled the left hand violently until it reached the place 
prepared for it. It would seem that the agony experienced by our Lord at 
this dreadful — nay fiendish — process could scarcely be surpassed at any 
stage of the sufferings he had endured. His breast heaved, and his legs 
were violently contracted. They again knelt upon him, tied down his 
arms, and drove the second nail into his left hand. His sacred blood 



Eleventh Station. 65 

streamed forth anew, and pitiful moans attested his pain. Each blow of 
the hammer forced them from his lips, but nothing could move the hard- 
hearted executioners to the slightest commiseration. 

2. The cause of this painful nailing. 

Our Lord suffers this indescribable agony of the nailing of his hands to the 
cross on account of the sins with which the souls of men are disfigured in va- 
rious ways by the abuse of their hands. We have received them from a benefi- 
cent God as another means of serving him and performing acts of kindness 
to our neighbor, whilst they are of incalculable benefit to ourselves. But 
too often they are perverted from the use for which they were given us. 
Even Christians dare to use their hands in a manner most displeasing to 
their Creator by committing many sins and vices. For is it not a most 
flagrant misuse when they make unjust attacks upon the property of others, 
rob and steal ; when they are so quick with the cruel blow, and even 
wound and murder their fellow men ? Is it not a violation of their use to 
do servile work on Sundays and holydays instead of going to church and 
praying ; to be guilty of unchaste touches on their own persons,- touches 
which are abominable in the sight of God and in the eyes of every honorable 
person, or to collect and disseminate the miasma contained in those books- 
so destructive to innocence and purity of heart, to religion and morality 
which abound at the present time ? 

Have you, perhaps, been amongst those who heaped blows upon our 
Saviour by the various sins committed with your hands ? O, reflect, and 
if it be so, make an act of contrition, humbly ask pardon of him 
and promise to amend your life. Henceforth, employ your hands ac- 
cording to the will of God in labor, prayer, the practice of good works, 
and especially, works of mercy and charity. Should the tempter come with: 
his evil suggestions to use your hands so that they would reopen the 
wounds in those of Jesus, remember the pains which your Lord suffered 
when those sharp nails were driven deep in his flesh, and beseech him to 
give you grace to overcome the temptation and not to offend him by any 
sin. 

Part II. 

The nailing of the hands to the cross was followed by the nailing of the 
feet. Let us now consider, 

1. The nailing of the feet to the cross. The executioners had fastened 
a piece of wood to the lower portion of the cross beneath where the feet 
of Jesus would be nailed, that thus the weight of his body might not rest 
upon the wounds of his hands, as also to prevent the bones of his feet 
from being broken when nailed to the cross. A hole had been pierced in 



66 The Way of the Cross. 

this piece of wood to receive the nail when driven through his feet, and 
there was likewise a little hollow place for his heels. These precautions 
were only another proof that his torturers were the personification of malice, 
for they feared that his wounds might be torn open by the weight of his 
body, and that he would, by dying before he had borne all the agony they 
wished to inflict upon him, deprive them of the cruel sight of each new 
pain. The whole body of our Lord had been dragged upward, and con- 
tracted by the violent manner in which the executioners had stretched out 
his arms, and his knees were bent up ; they, therefore, flattened and tied 
them down tightly with cords ; but soon perceiving that his feet did not 
reach the piece of wood which was placed for them to rest upon, their fury 
raged with terrible force. Some proposed making fresh holes for the nails 
which pierced his hands, as it would be very difficult to remove the piece 
of wood, but the others violently opposed this and continued to vociferate : 
He will not stretch himself out, but we will make him. These words were 
accompanied with the most fearful oaths and imprecations, and, having 
fastened a rope to his right leg, they pulled it violently until it reached the 
wood and then tied it down as tightly as possible. The agony which 
Jesus suffered from this violent tension was indescribable ; so intense that 
the words, "My God, my God ! " escaped his lips, but the monsters in- 
creased his pain by tying his chest and arms to the cross, lest the hands 
should be torn from the nails. They then fastened his left foot over his 
right foot, having first bored a hole through them with a pointed instru- 
met, because they could not be placed in such a position as to be nailed 
together at once. They, next, took a very long nail and drove it completely 
through both feet into the wood of the cross, which operation was more 
than usually painful, on account of his body being stretched so unnatur- 
ally. How terrible is it not ! O, Christians, to think that before the nail 
was driven through the bruised feet and the hard wood, thirty-six blows of 
the hammer were required. Who can even faintly depict the anguish 
which racked that sacred body as each blow inflicted a new pain? Every 
blow penetrated marrow and bone, his heart heaved and trembled, his 
breathing became slower, paleness covered his face, and there was not a 
nerve or artery in his body that was not torn with the most violent pain. 

2. The cause of the painful nailing of his feet. No questions are needed 
here, for it is but too evident why the feet of Jesus were fastened in so 
painful a manner to the cross. It was the sins which men commit with 
their feet. God has given us feet that, in the observance of his holy com- 
mands, we should not deviate from the narrow path which leads to heavenly 
bliss. And yet, alas ! the great majority prefer the broad and pleasant 
road whose end is death. Ask yourselves whether your feet have not often 
wandered through places where no thought of God's interests or your duty 
ever entered your mind, but where you could gratify some vile passion, 



Twelfth Station. 6y 

and wound anew the bruised feet of your suffering Lord. It was Sunday 
morning, and conscience urged you to go to Mass, whither you knew well 
that it was your duty to go. Alas ! how many of you went to some den of 
iniquity to spend the time during the holy sacrifice in drinking or in idle 
conversation, while Christians who realized the value of their souls knelt 
before God's altar in prayer and listened to his divine voice in church. It 
was night, and after the turmoil of the day you should have sought repose, 
but many of you walked forbidden ways and offended God with the most 
grievous sins. Alas ! many of you have taken steps for purposes which 
will press heavily on your hearts when called upon to take your last step — 
the step into eternity. Deplorable, indeed, is the condition of those un- 
fortunate ones who misuse their feet to offend God and always walk in 
evil paths, for alas ! where else can their wanderings terminate but in that 
abyss where darkness and everlasting horror prevail ? 

PERORATION. 

Reflect well on this, and if your conscience reproaches you that your 
feet have led you into various sins, with hearts full of sorrow, look upon 
this Eleventh Station and with the deepest humility implore God's pardon 
for your sins. With Mary Magdalen prostrate yourselves at the feet of 
your Lord, and, with her, bathe them with penitent tears, while you 
promise that henceforth you will walk in the path of virtue. Yes, O Jesus, 
this shall be the fruit of our meditation to-day : We will never again em- 
ploy our hands or feet in evil ways ; on the contrary, we are resolved to 
follow thee on the rough road of mortification and penance that we may 
be permitted to follow thee into the eternal glory of heaven. Amen. 



TWELFTH STATION. 



JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS. 

" And bowing his head he gave up the ghost.'' — John ig ; 30. 

Let us place ourselves again in spirit on Mount Calvary and contemplate 
Jesus on his bed of pain. His hands and feet are nailed to the cross. No 
words can even faintly give an idea of that pain, but the ingenuity of 
malice has devised still greater sufferings, and a new torture is prepared 
for our Lord. When those wretched creatures had completed his cruci- 
fixion, they tied ropes to the trunk of the cross, and fastening their 



68 The Way of the Cross. 

ends to a long beam which was fixed firmly in the ground at a little 
distance, they raised up the cross. Some of their number supported 
it, while others pushed its foot towards the hole prepared for it — the heavy 
cross fell into this opening with a frightful shock — Jesus uttered a faint cry 
— his wounds were torn open in the most fearful manner, and the precious 
blood gushed forth, then, as now, trampled upon by the unthinking 
crowd. They pushed the cross to get it thoroughly into the hole, and 
caused it to vibrate still more by planting five stakes around it to support 
it. Christ is thus exalted, and, as a malefactor, hangs on a gibbet between 
heaven and earth. Let us place ourselves at the Twelfth Station, which 
bears the inscription : Jesus dies on the cross, and consider, 

I. Jlie victory which Jesus won on the cross. 
II. The victory which we, too, must win. 

Part I. 

From the severe struggle which Christ had to endure on the cross he 
came forth as conqueror, 

i. In the struggle against his unutterable bodily pains. 

(a) How intense are the pains which Jesus suffers on the cross ! There 
is not a spot of his sacred head that is free from pain. Alas ! the thorns 
have made it one quivering wound, his face is swollen and disfigured by 
blows, his chest is distended and raised in such a manner that it were easy 
to number his bones, his back is lacerated, his hands and his feet pierced 
through with nails and fastened to the cross — in a word, his whole aspect 
is such as makes him appear to us as a man of sorrows. And in these 
nameless sufferings he cannot procure for himself the least mitigation. His 
head pains him, but if he wished to remove the thorns, the nails hold his 
hands fast to the cross ; his hands and feet ache and. smart, but if he should 
try to find relief, alas ! he is bound fast by the nails ; his back and chest 
cause him absolute torture, but he cannot move — our sins keep him nailed 
to the cross. Imagine how our Lord must have suffered, to remain so 
long unable to lie or sit, to walk or stand, and with the whole weight of 
his body perforce suspended by these three nails. His members are grow- 
ing weaker by the long hanging, and, the wounds made by the nails having 
become larger, with every moment the pain grows more excessive, but, 
alas ! he must drain the bitter cup to the dregs. As St. Alphonsus remarks, 
Jesus endures the pangs of death every moment, and we may say that he 
suffers death as often as there are moments in the three hours during which 
he hung upon the cross. The terrible thorns in his diadem of pain pressed 
into his head and prevented his raising it even for a moment without the 



Twelfth Station. 69 

most intense suffering; his mouth was parched and half open from ex- 
haustion, and his waving locks and beard clotted with blood. His chest 
was torn with stripes and wounds, and his elbows, wrists and shoulders so 
violently distended as to be almost dislocated. The precious blood never 
ceased flowing from the gaping wounds in his hands, and his flesh was so 
torn from his ribs that you might almost number them. His legs, thighs, 
and arms were stretched almost to dislocation, while the flesh and muscles 
were completely laid bare that every bone was visible, and his whole 
body covered with black, livid and gaping wounds. The blood which 
issued from his wounds was at first red, but by degrees it became rather like 
water, and the whole appearance of the body was that of a corpse ready to 
be placed in the grave. Thus Jesus on the cross could truly exclaim in 
the words of the prophet : " O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see 
if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow." — Lament. 1:12. 

(6) Yet, notwithstanding the horrible wounds, the like of which no 
man ever endured, notwithstanding the ignominy to which he was reduced, 
there still remained that inexpressible look of dignity and goodness which 
had ever filled all beholders with awe. Indescribable as are his pains — no 
complaint, no murmur, no despondent word comes from his lips ; he 
does not make the least exertion to be freed from his torture ; he remains 
on the cross, and with constancy perseveres to the last moment. Though 
his hands and feet and every member of his body suffer unspeakable pains, 
he does not complain ; as in the Garden of Olives, so now on the cross, 
he suffers with resignation and bows to the will of his heavenly Father. 

2. In the struggle against the wickedness of his enemies. 

{a) You who have walked step by step with our beloved Saviour along 
the dolorous way of the cross, whose hearts have gone forth in sympathy 
with his bitter sorrows, may think that at the sight of his countless pains 
the fury of his enemies would have subsided and given place to feelings of 
compassion and mercy ; for it is peculiar to the human heart to be satis- 
fied when it sees the object of its hatred destroyed. But no, the leaders of 
the Jews far from feeling the least commiseration for the crucified Saviour, 
on the contrary emulate one another in blaspheming and mocking him in 
his misery and abandonment. "Vah," some of them said, "thou who 
destroyest the temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again, save thy 
own self; if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross." Others 
sneeringly exclaimed : " He saved others ; himself he cannot save. If he 
be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will 
believe him. He trusted in God ; let him deliver him now, if he will have 
him; for he said, "I am the Son of God." — Matt. 27; 40-43. How 



jo The Way of the Cross. 

painful such blasphemies must have been to our crucified Saviour ! What 
pain his Sacred Heart must have suffered when in this last supreme hour 
he was mocked by his own creatures and not even granted the privilege of 
dying in peace ! 

(b) What is Christ's conduct towards his enemies? Does he burn 
with holy indignation at their wicked behavior? Does he from the 
cross hurl curses upon his heartless scoffers or destroy them with the breath 
of his mouth ? Ah ! no ; Jesus, the Eternal Love, does not do this. He 
does not regard the injury inflicted upon him, but their immortal souls and 
the judgment awaiting them, and, full of compassion and commiseration, 
he lovingly pleads for his murderers, saying : " Father, forgive them, for 
they know not what they do." — Luke 23 : 34. O love of my Jesus, what a 
good fight thou hast fought, what a glorious victory thou hast won ! O, 
millions of thy servants, who are despised and persecuted in the world, 
look upon thy struggle, and, in thy victory, conquer. 

3. In the struggle against the dejection of his heart. 

(a) The Apostles and martyrs, it is true, had to endure a hard struggle 
m the hour of their death, for they were most cruelly tortured. When we 
read of the sufferings which many of them had to undergo for the sake of 
their faith, we shudder and can scarcely believe it possible that they could 
suffer such torments. But then, in all their struggles and sufferings these 
Saints enjoyed divine consolation, and it was this that raised their droop- 
ing spirits, strengthened them and sweetened the most bitter pains. But 
how different is the manner in which our crucified Saviour suffers ! He is 
destitute of all heavenly consolation, for he voluntarily parted with it that 
he might, to its fullest extent, suffer the bitterness of death. His heavenly 
Father withdraws himself from him, as it were, and no longer allows him 
to enjoy the sweetness of his presence. His soul, like his body, is over- 
shadowed by the densest darkness, and not a ray of heavenly light pene- 
trates into his agonizing heart. His humanity shudders at this and breaks 
forth into the plaintiff cry : "My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken 
me." — Matt. 27 : 46. 

(b) Let us not believe, however, that this plaintive cry showed that the 
deep interior anguish of our Redeemer had conquered. Let us not think 
that he had at last faltered, and would, with despondent heart, meet his 
death. No, he only complains, and that in a loud voice, that we may 
fully understand what an inexpressible pain for him is this deprivation of 
all divine consolation, and realize the depth of a love, which impelled him 
voluntarily to undergo this pain in order to render our death less painful. 
He does not waver a moment in his confidence in God, even in the hour 



Twelfth Station. 71 

of his greatest abandonment he is perfectly resigned to the will of his 
heavenly Father, therefore, after a short pause he exclaims: "Father, into 
thy hands I commend my spirit." — Luke 25: 45. 

Part II. 

Being disciples of Christ crucified, with him we must fight and conquer,, 

1. In the tribulations of this life. 

(a) Sufferings are our portion in this life; for since sin has found 
entrance into the world, it brought them sad heritage in its train. That 
this earth is no longer the fair garden into which our first parents entered, 
the paradise full of bright and beautiful sights which God permitted them to 
enjoy is well known to us all. That it is a vale of tears where pleasure is 
always attended by pain, is too evident to us children of men. The first 
act of the babe that leaves its mother's womb, is to utter a feeble wail, as if 
already conscious that it must shed many tears on its journey through life. 
And when man lies on his death-bed, ah! when do his lips part in laughter? 
he sighs, moans and groans, while bitter tears flow from his breaking eyes. 
Ah ! how many sufferings and tribulations there are in the world ! How 
many suffer the greatest poverty all their life ! Great is the number of 
diseases, and scarcely a day passes on which we are not overtaken by a 
greater or less indisposition. How many cares and difficulties are connected 
with the duties of our state of life ! Heat and cold, hunger and thirst, fatigue 
and night-watches, and accompanying all these are many disquietudes and 
vexations. Job indeed spoke truly when he said: " Man born of a woman, 
living for a short time, is filled with many miseries." — Job 14: 1. 

(b) How should we act in the midst of these sufferings and tribulations ? 
Should we lose patience and courage, and despondently murmur against 
God ? Ah! no, that would be wrong and sinful. Though the cross laid 
upon us may seem almost too heavy, we must bear it with resignation; 
"for patience is necessary for us; that, doing the will of God, we may re- 
ceive the promise." — Heb. 10: 36. In the days of tribulation let us arm 
ourselves with the weapon of patience, and beg our divine Saviour through 
the pains he endured for love of us on the cross, to grant us resignation to 
his holy will; and let us carry the cross with constancy as long as it pleases 
him, remembering the words of St. James: ''Blessed is the man that en- 
dureth temptation: for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the 
crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love him." — 1 : 12. 

2. In the injuries and offences which are offered to us by our fellow-men. 

(a) It costs a struggle to suffer patiently and to grant an entire pardon 
to those who offend us, for it is repugnant to our self-love which abhors 



72 The Way of the Cross. 

the thought of yielding and forgiving. But as Christians it is our strict duty 
to love all men, even our enemies and those who offend us, and to return 
them good for evil. Our divine Lord emphatically says: "But I say to 
you: Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for 
them that persecute and calumniate you." — Matt. 5: 44. We also know 
well that it is vain for us to expect forgiveness of God, unless we forgive 
from our heart: "If you will not forgive men, neither will your Father for- 
give you your sins." And we daily pray: " Forgive us our trespasses as 
we forgive them that trespass against us." We would be guilty of false- 
hood before God, if we refused to forgive those who offend us, and would, 
as it were, demand of him to refuse his forgiveness to us. 

(b) To forgive our enemies and those who offend us entails frequently 
a hard struggle; nature revolts against it, but if we have a good will, with 
the grace of God, which he is always most willing to give, we shall over- 
come nature and conquer. Consider the many Christians who have won 
this victory. St. Stephen, that holy youth, first flower of martyrdom in the 
garden of the Church, prayed for his murderers in the moment of death : 
" Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." — Acts 7: 59. St. Francis of Sales 
was grossly insulted by two men, but so far from being angry he cast him- 
self on his knees and humbly asked their pardon, though he had in no way 
injured or offended them. With such admirable examples before you, you 
should say with St. Augustine: "If these could do it, why not I?" Courage 
then. Wage a ceaseless war against all temptations of hatred and ill-will, and 
consider what a glorious recompense is awaiting you, if you check every 
desire of revenge and cultivate kindness towards those who offend you, for 
Christ assures us: "Blessed are you when men shall revile you, and per- 
secute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my 
sake; rejoice and be exceedingly glad, because your reward is very great in 
heaven." — Matt. 5: 12. 

3. In the disconsolate state of mind. 

(a) "This state," says St. Alphonsus, "is the most sensitive and is the 
severest pain which a pious Christian can suffer in this world." As long 
as he is favored with divine consolation, no affliction grieves him; derision, 
• contempt, pains, privations and persecutions are rather welcomed by him 
because they afford him an opportunity of making a sacrifice to his Redeemer 
and of becoming conformable to him. But to feel that his heart is an arid 
waste, where he can discover no flower of fervor, to know that the bright 
sunshine of holy desires no longer illumines it, and to realize that there is no 
consolation for him in any religious exercise, not even in Holy Communion, 
is a trial very difficult to bear. Still more wretched is he when he thinks that 
God has abandoned him and will no longer acknowledge him as his child. 



Twelfth Station. 73 

Thus St. Francis of Sales when seventeen years old was tempted by the 
terrible thought that God, from all eternity, had decreed to condemn him 
to hell, and that, do what he might, he could not escape this terrible fate. 
This temptation lasted all through one weary month, till it pleased God to 
lift the cloud from his soul through the intercession of Mary. We read 
similar incidents in the life of St. Theresa, St. Rose of Lima, St. Margaret 
of Cortona and of many other Saints. As a rule, God generally visits with 
interior sufferings those who aspire to higher perfection and often withdraws 
his consolation from them for a time. 

(b) Now, if God should find it expedient to let you taste a few drops of 
the bitter chalice, which Jesus and many Saints had to drink, do not lose 
courage, arm yourself and fight manfully, and you will come forth victorious 
from the contest. Arm yourself .with humility, acknowledge and confess 
that the chastisement is on account of your sins, but too well merited; arm 
yourself with courage and confidence in the conviction that God will not 
abandon you; arm yourself with prayer by continuing your exercises of 
-•devotion, though you should feel no devotion; and, finally, arm yourself 
with sincerity by candidly disclosing the state of your soul to your confessor 
and doing what he prescribes for you. 

PERORATION. 

Therefore, go forth to battle with courage and prove yourselves worthy 
soldiers of Christ, who on the cross won so glorious a victory over his pains, 
over his enemies, and over his abandonment. Should sufferings and tri- 
bulations overwhelm you, do not despond, put your confidence in God 
and full of resignation pray: ' ' Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. " 
If you are offended, let no thought of hatred and revenge arise in you, but 
forgive, as God, also, has forgiven you. Should you be deprived of sensible 
devotion and become disconsolate in the exercise of your religious duties, 
resign yourself to the will of God and serve him with equal fidelity in good 
as well as in evil days. Blessed are you, if you thus fight and conquer, 
you shall triumph with your crucified Redeemer for ever in heaven. Amen. 



74 The Way of the Cross. 



THIRTEENTH STATION. 



JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS AND LAID IN THE LAP OF MARY. 

" They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in tinen clothes with the spices. " 

— John ip; 40. 

Jesus has expired on the cross. It is three o'clock in the afternoon; 
according to the law of Moses (Deut. 211*23) which commanded that the 
burial of those crucified should take place on the same day, haste was neces- 
sary in order to take the body of Christ down from the cross. As those 
who were crucified frequently did not die for some time the executioners 
broke their legs and chest in order to hasten death. This was to be done, 
too, in the case of Jesus. When, however, they saw that he was already 
dead they did not break his legs, but one of the soldiers opened his side 
with a spear and immediately there came out blood and water. These 
things were done, that the Scripture might be fullnlled: "You shall not 
break a bone of him," (Ex. 12: 46), and again: "They shall look upon him 
whom they have pierced." — Zach. 12: 10. Preparations were now being 
made for taking the lifeless body of Christ down from the cross. The 
Thirteenth Station represents this mystery to us: Jesus is taken down from 
the cross and laid in the lap of Mary. At this Station we will consider two ■ 
points : 

I. Jesus is taken down from the cross. 
II. He is laid in the lap of Mary. 

Part I. 

Jesus Christ being dead on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea, a member of 
the Sanhedrim, went to Pilate with the request that his body might be 
given into his charge. Had he not taken this precaution Christ would 
have been interred on Calvary as were the two criminals executed at the 
same time. No fitting interment would have been given to those precious 
remains. Pilate, having convinced himself of the death of Christ, did not 
hesitate to give the body to Joseph, who, with his friend Nicodemus, like- 
wise a member of the great council, went to Mount Calvary. There, in the 
presence of the Mother of Jesus and some pious women and disciples, 



Thirteenth Station. 75 

they took down the body of Christ. Then, according to a revelation of 
St. Bridget, they tenderly bore the mangled form to a rock, on which they 
spread out linen of the most exquisite fineness, cleansed our divine Saviour 
from all dust and blood, anointed him with precious spices and prepared 
him for his burial. Herein Joseph and Nicodemus give us a beautiful 
example of a strong and generous love for Jesus. 

1. Of a strong love. 

(a) "Love is strong as death," (Cant. 8 : 6) for, like death, it can be 
deterred by no obstacle; "it hopeth all, endureth all." — I. Cor. 13 : 7. 
Such was the love of Joseph and Nicodemus for Jesus. The great council 
long before had issued its imperious decree which threatened our Saviour's 
adherents with expulsion from the Jewish church, and some who, not- 
withstanding this, still favored his cause had been ignominiously expelled. 
These two devoted friends had to expect the same, and, it might be, a 
punishment still more severe. They knew well that by interesting them- 
selves in surrounding the burial of our Saviour's body with whatever tokens 
of respect they could command they would incur the hatred of the Scribes 
and Pharisees and expose themselves to hard, life-long persecutions. But 
these considerations did not deter them from the good work. Their ardent 
love of Christ made them willing to sacrifice all they possessed, honor, 
dignity, property, and even life. 

(5) O, should not the noble example of these two faithful friends of 
Christ bring the blush of shame to the cheek of the majority of Christians? 
They are never wanting in words : "Jesus, for thee I live ; Jesus, for thee 
I die," is often heard from their lips, but they shrink from even the smallest 
sacrifice for the love of Christ. They are tempted to anger, impurity, 
hatred, aversion toward their neighbor. For love of Christ they should 
struggle against, and overcome, these temptations, but they yield and 
thereby sin. Is this a strong love? They are in a society where irreligious 
discourses take place. It is their duty to manifest their displeasure at 
such discourses and to show themselves practical Catholics, but through 
fear of giving offence they do not utter a word, and thereby exteriorly 
consent to what they interiorly disapprove of. They let their fear of ridicule 
and raillery conquer their dread of offending God. Is this a strong love? 
They have made their confession and promised God and their confessor 
never again to commit this or that sin, but a few days have scarcely passed 
by when they relapse into their former sinful life, and their resolutions of 
amendment are cast to the winds. Is this a strong love? How deplorable 
the condition of such cowardly, wavering Christians. To them are applic- 
able the words of Christ : "He that loveth father or mother more than me, 
is not worthy of me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me 



7 6 The Way of the Cross. 

is not worthy of me. — Matt. 10 : 37. Consider this and endeavor so to 
love Christ that you can say in truth : "Who shall separate us from the 
love of Christ? shall tribulation? or distress? or famine ? or nakedness? 
or danger? or persecution? or the sword?" 

2. Of a generous love. 

(a) Joseph and Nicodemus had to draw largely from the golden store 
of their riches in order to have Christ's body taken from the cross and 
buried. They deemed themselves happy, however, to be permitted so 
great a privilege, and with the greatest joy procured what was necessary 
for the embalming and interment of the sacred body. "Joseph taking the 
body, wrapped it up in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new 
monument, which he had hewed out in a rock." — Matt. 27: 59, 60. Truly, 
a love, which we must not only admire but also imitate. 

(5) How can we imitate the love of these two pious men ? Opportuni- 
ties are never wanting. There are churches, school-houses and orphanages 
to be built and maintained. Now, if you conscientiously guage your 
liberality by the extent of your means, and give, as freely as they will per- 
mit towards the support of your Catholic school and your church, you 
certainly perform an act of charity most pleasing to your Saviour. If you 
feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, in general, if you relieve 
the needy and the afflicted Christ accepts these works of mercy as if done 
to himself. "Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these 
my least brethren, you did it to me." — Matt. 25: 40. 

Part II. 

Jesus is laid in the lap of Mary. It is an ancient tradition that the body 
of Jesus after the descent from the cross was laid in the lap Mary. St. 
Bridget testifies that Mary revealed this to her in these words: "When my 
Son had been taken down from the cross I took him like a leper into my 
bosom. His eyes were red and full of blood, his mouth was as cold as 
ice, his hands so stiff that they could not be bent. As he had hung on the 
cross, so they laid him in my bosom." 

Let us consider, 

1. The grief of the divine Mother. O! sad beyond the power of expresssion 
was the heart of this disconsolate mother when she contemplated the body of 
her Son! If it is true what St. Augustine says that the measure of the pains 
is the measure of love, and if it is certain that Mary loved her Son far more 
intimately and affectionately than any mother ever loved her only child, 



Thirteenth Stati-on. 77 

vou may imagine, how intense, how unspeakably cruel must have been the 
grief which pierced her soul when she gazed at those mangled remains. 
We can without hesitation assent to what a spiritual writer has said: " If 
we consider all the torments which the holy martyrs endured together, they 
were not as bitter as the sorrow which Mary experienced at the death of 
her most beloved Son. Mary, herself revealed her sorrow to St. Bridget in 
these words: "No man is able to express the grief I suffered when I had 
my -Son in my bosom, I was like a mother in travail, whose members 
tremble, who is unable to breathe for very pain." 



2. Why she underwent this great grief. For no other reason than her 
devoted love for us sinners. She was well aware that according to the 
decree of God our only hope of redemption was in Christ's death on the 
cross; therefore loving us most tenderly and wishing nothing more ardently 
than to behold reopened our pathway to heaven, she made a sacrifice of 
herself to God and even at the Incarnation of Jesus Christ gave her consent 
to his painful death. She does the same now that she has the body of her 
crucified Son in her lap. Suppressing her natural maternal feeling she 
again makes a sacrifice of Christ, and says: "My heart is ready to break 
with sorrow, but now I see those whom I so tenderly love, rescued from 
perdition, I see them reconciled with God and fit to enter into heaven, 
therefore, I love and praise thee, O God for having inflicted upon me this 
very great grief, for I esteem the salvation of men above all things. 

Application. What a glorious example Mary gives us that we, too, should 
sincerely love our fellow-men and be solicitous for their salvation. 

i. Motives. This love is our sacred duty. "He gave to every one 
commandment concerning his neighbor." — Ecclus. 17: 12. If it be in- 
cumbent upon us to promote even the temporal welfare of our neighbor, 
how much more must we be solicitous for the salvation of his soul, since 
the soul is inestimably more precious than. the body and eternity more im- 
portant than time. Consider the mighty efforts, the unceasing exertions of 
the Saints, all made that they might win wandering souls to Christ. St. 
Francis Xavier went to India and Japan, bearing innumerable hardships 
and dangers in order to bring the blind pagans to the knowledge of God. 
St. Paulinus sold himself into slavery in order to ransom the son of a widow 
and to preach the Gospel to infidels. St. Fidelis oftentimes incurred im- 
minent danger by his sermons to heretics, and esteemed it the greatest 
privilege to die a martyr. The sacrifices made by these and thousands of 
other Saints are still made by the missionaries who go into distant parts of 
the world and disregarding labors and dangers preach the holy faith. 



j8 The Way of the Cross. 

2. Means. 

(a) Words. A word of instruction, of correction or of warning when 
spoken at an appropriate and well chosen time and with charity, excercises 
a great influence upon the human heart; the careless man abandons his 
negligent habits, the lukewarm become zealous, the sinner enters upon the 
way of penance. Examples: King Saul persecuted the innocent David unto 
death; but at the persuasion of his son Jonathan he desisted from his per- 
secution and swore not to injure David. — i. Kings 19: 4, 5. David had 
grievously sinned, and, for a time, persevered in impenitence. Nathan 
came to him and showed him the greatness of his crimes, David at once 
opens his eyes to the true condition of his soul and repents of his sins. — 
2. Kings 12: 1, et seq. Never hesitate to speak such words when you have 
the least hope that they will be of any avail, and be assured that God will 
recompense you for this act of charity; for "they that instruct many to 
justice, shall shine as stars for all eternity." — Dan. 12: 3. 

(b) Good example. A good example like a lovely song charms and 
enraptures every, even the most savage heart. The pious Christian feels 
himself sustained and strengthened by the good example of others to walk 
in the path of virtue; the lukewarm Christian looking at the bright example 
of some holy souls within his circle, gains inspiration to enter upon a new life 
and grows more fervent. The sinner who for years had turned every page in 
the dark record of vice turns from his evil ways and enters upon the way of 
penance. History also teaches us the effect of good example. The Cen- 
turion Cornelius asked and received baptism, and stimulated by his ex- 
ample his whole house embraced the Christian faith. — Acts 10: 48. The 
hermit Abraham spent years in trying to open the eyes of the infidels to the 
light of faith, but with no success. When, however, he received with 
patience the blows and ignominies which they inflicted upon him, they 
felt themselves drawn towards him by an irresistible power. "Behold," 
they said, "the patience of this man, behold his love for us, notwithstanding 
all the injuries and sufferings which we cause him he remains among us and 
continues to announce the Gospel. If his words were not from God, he 
certainly would not suffer so much for us. Come, then, and let us believe 
in the God whom he preaches.''' According to the admonition of Christ, 
therefore, "let your light so shine before men, that they may seeyourgood 
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." — Matt. 5:16. 

(c) Prayer, than which as experience proves there is no more efficacious 
means for the salvation of souls. The prayer of Moses availed much. God 
had often decreed to punish the Israelites on account of their sins, but 
through the intercession of Moses he was again pacified and spared the 
people. Through the intercession of Abraham God would have spared the 
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, if ten just men had been found therein. 
St. Augustine observes that St. Paul owed the grace of his conversion to St. 



Fourteenth Station. 79 

Stephen, who prayed for him whilst being stoned. St. Paul, himself, was 
convinced of the power of intercessory prayer, for he exhorts us, "that 
supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all who 
are in high stations that we may lead a quiet and a peaceful life, in all piety 
and chastity." — 1. Tim. 2: 1, 2. 

PERORATION. 

Here is a wide field in which you can contribute your share towards the 
salvation of your fellow-men. Instruct them, correct them with all patience 
and doctrine, now with friendly, now with severe words, as in your prudence 
you deem it expedient and necessary; in everything shine before them with 
a good example and frequently commend them in your pious prayers to the 
love and mercy of God. If in such a manner you manifest your love for your 
neighbor you will do more good than you will ever know during life. You 
will strengthen the weak, excite Christian fervor in the hearts of the luke- 
warm, lead the sinners back to the way of penance and rescue many souls 
from perdition. You may be assured that God, who desires nothing more 
ardently than that all men be saved, will be pleased with your works of 
charity and will reward you for them with many graces in this life and with 
eternal beatitude in the next. Amen. 



FOURTEENTH STATION 



JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB. 

' 'Joseph taking his body, wrapped it up in a clean linen cloth; and laid it in 

his own new monument which he had hewed out in a rock. 

— Matt. 27 : 59, 60. 

Mary the Mother of God had taken her Son after his descent from the 
cross into her bosom and once more contemplated all his wounds, although 
the effort produced an anguish far keener than any mother, before or since, 
has ever felt. But a new and greater grief was to follow. The sun is fast 
receding from view, the shadows of evening are beginning to fall, and the 
burial of Jesus must be hastened, because after the setting of the sun begins 
the Easter-feast on which no interment is permitted to take place. The 
two friends of our Saviour, Joseph and Nicodemus, make all the necessary 
arrangements for the burial. They wash the sacred body, anoint it with 
the precious ointments they had brought, wrap it up in fine linen and bury 
it in the new monument of Joseph of Arimathea. This is represented to 



80 The Way of the Cross. 

us in the last Station of the Holy Way of the Cross, whereon we read:/&s#s 
is laid in the tomb. Let us consider, 

I. The burial of Jesus in the new monument, and 
II. His burial in our heart. 

Part I. 

i. The persons who follow the corpse to the grave. Persons who have 
been prominent during life either by their goodness which has won for 
them admiration, or their wealth which has given them a high position, or 
their rank which entitles them to consideration are generally followed to 
the tomb by a long and imposing funeral train. An elegant casket con- 
tains the mortal remains, the.bells are tolled, a long line of carriages, filled 
with people, accompany it to the grave. And if the deceased was some 
great, or mighty potentate, whole regiments attend in order to add to the 
solemnity of the funeral. Now if miserable men are buried with such great 
pomp, how magnificent should be the funeral of the Son of God ! He is 
rich, immensely rich; for all the treasures of the immense universe are his; 
he is the ruler whose dominion extends over the whole visible creation and 
whom heaven and earth obey; he is a saint, before whose splendor the 
sanctity of Angels and Saints disappear as the light of the moon and the 
stars before the rays of the sun. Moreover, never before or since he dwelt 
upon earth had man so loving, so helpful a friend, for his whole life was 
one constant series of benefits to all; the poor loved him, for it was his 
delight to "load them with good things," the sick revered even the hem 
of his garment, for they knew he could restore them to health. The 
ignorant hailed the words of instruction from him as the parched earth 
drinks in the soft spring rain, and sinners, weary of tasting husks, could 
not withstand his pleading voice, as he bade them repent, and "sin no 
more." The funeral of so great, so noble, so generous, so perfect a being 
will doubtless surpass all similar demonstrations of respect ever known. 
All Judea and Samaria will be present and tears without number will be 
shed at his grave. Millions will weep for him, his heroic and magnanimous 
deeds will be told, and his praise will be on every one's lips. But what do 
I say ? It will be even now as when, during life, he walked on earth. 
Few and humble were those who loved him dearly and truly, and when 
his eyes closed in death there were equally few whom he could claim as 
his true friends. He was the King of the Jews, but no Herod is there 
to pay him the last tribute of respect, no Pilate with reverend mien joins 
the throng; he was High-priest, but I see no priest, no Levite among the 
mourners; he was a Prophet, but I see no Scribe, no Pharisee hasten 
to pay this last act of regard towards one whom they had loved and 
esteemed. Who then form the vast crowd of mourners at the funeral of 



Fourteenth Station. 8 1 

Christ ? Alas ! His few but faithful friends alone attend. Mary, his most 
afflicted mother, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, St. John, one or two 
of the disciples, Mary Magdalene and a few pious women of Jerusalem. 
What a small unpretending funeral for so great a person! 

Lesson. Such is the world. If Christ had pandered to the passions of 
the Jews and sanctioned their vices, or, at least, silently overlooked them, he 
would without doubt have had a most magnificant funeral and the marvels 
he wrought would have been reiterated all over the world. But because he 
was fearless in his condemnation of vice, and preached penance and self- 
denial as necessary virtues he incurred a hatred which pursued him unto 
death. He was condemned to the death awarded to malefactors, and could 
his enemies have gained their wish, they would have destroyed even his 
memory from the face of the earth. Do not value the praise and applause 
of the world, but be firm in your allegiance to Christ; the friendship of one 
pious soul is infinitely more precious, than the friendship of the world. 
When your lifeless form has been placed in the casket and is about to be 
borne to the silent city of the dead, if you have the fervent prayers of ten 
pious Christians, it will be of far greater benefit to you than would be the 
presence of a thousand worldly people at your grave, whose only motive in 
going is self interest, or who are prompted by a regard for propriety, and 
they will never think of saying an Our Father that, the time of probation 
being shortened, you may soon enter the realms of perpetual light, the 
mansions of heavenly bliss. 

2. The place of burial. Christ was laid in a new sepulchre. The more 
prominent of the Jews had their own monuments, which often were very 
spacious and magnificent, and looked more like a dwelling than a grave. 
Joseph of Arimathea, too, had such a monument, for he was wealthy and 
a member of the great council. Christ having died on the cross, was to be 
buried like all other criminals, on Golgotha, that is, the place of skulls, in 
the valley Enon / a horrible place, where all the refuse of the city was thrown. 
But happily through the "generosity of Joseph this great indignity did not 
take place. He conveyed the body of Christ to his own monument and 
deemed himself happy to be able to bury him there. Thus in a stranger's 
grave was the only refuge offered to Jesus; he who on the cross had not 
where to lay his holy head, had not even his own grave in the world, 
because he was not of the world. 

Lesson. Do not set your heart and affections on the goods of this world, 
much less let them cause you to offend God. All earthly goods are vain, 
fleeting, perishable, and resemble a vapor which is seen a little while and 
then disappears. — James 4:15. What else is our life here below but a 
drama, which will soon end; for "the figure of the world passeth away." 



82 The Way of the Cross. 

— i. Cor, 7: 31. He that plays the king, leaves behind the purple trailing 
robes. When the drama is at an end he that acted the king is king no 
more, and the master is no longer master. The sad hour of death puts an 
end to all glory, all nobility, all greatness and all possessions. Casimir, 
king of Poland died while at a banquet with the great ones of his.xkingdom. 
He was lifting a glass to his lips when death snatched it away; thus the 
drama ended for him. Celsus was killed after having been commander-in- 
chief only seven days, and the drama was at an end for him. Ladislas, king 
of Bohemia, a youth of eighteen years, was expecting his bride, a daughter 
of the king of France, and great preparations had been made for her recep- 
tion, when behold ! one morning a deadly faintness and intense pains at- 
tacked him, and caused his death. Messengers were despatched to convey 
the sad tidings to his bride that the end of the drama had come for him. 
You are only actors in the drama of life, in your own estimation you are 
of importance, but you are nothing, you are only acting your part. You 
may imagine that you are rich, but the world deceives you, you are poor, 
you have nothing, because you brought nothing into this world, and as 
you came so shall you leave, the world claims all your possessions. Beware, 
therefore, on account of these vain, fleeting, perishable worldly goods, of 
burdening your conscience and of preparing for yourself a miserable eternity. 
We Catholics enjoy a still greater privilege than did Joseph of Arimathea 
and Nicodemus, for we can bury Jesus, not only once, but as often as we 
please, and not in the earth, but in our heart. As often as we communi- 
cate, Jesus comes to us, our heart becomes his resting place. But that our 
heart may become a fitting dwelling place for our divine Saviour, it must 
resemble the monument in the garden of Joseph of Arimathea. This 
monument was, as we read in the Gospel (Matt. 27: 60), 

1. New. It had been but lately hewed out, and no man had as yet 
been interred therein. Our heart must also be new, that Jesus may find 
there a worthy sepulchre. O! could you but see the repulsive appearance 
of a heart where sin has taken up its abode. The throne which God has 
erected is overthrown and demolished, the light of grace and with it the 
splendor of Christian virtues, is extinguished, and instead of Christ entering 
permanently in, he turns from it in horror. Satan has come, bringing with 
him sin and vice, and now it resembles a gloomy, dismal prison where 
crawling creeping things feed on the damp foul air. What an insult, 
therefore, do those Christians inflict upon their Saviour, who offer him an 
impure, sinful heart for his abode ! They compel the God of all holiness 
to enter where sin and the devil dwell. Is not this insulting him in the 
grossest manner ? Let us not wonder when the Apostle says: "He that 
eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself." 
— I. Cor. 11: 29. The very instant that man communicates unworthily, 
he renders himself guilty of eternal damnation. 



Fourteenth Station. 83 

Reflect well on this, and be careful that, at all times, but especially this 
year again at Easter, you make a worthy Communion. Renew your spirit, 
create for yourselves a new heart, cleanse it by a good confession from all 
sin, transform it into a fair garden all filled with the fragrant flowers of 
virtue, especially the blossoms of faith, love, humility and a holy desire of 
being united with Jesus. After such a preparation you may with confidence 
receive the Holy of holies into your heart, for he will find there an agree- 
able resting place. 

2. Hewed out in a rock. The monument of Joseph of Arimathea which 
was hewed out in a rock, was, therefore, protected against all storms and 
afforded to the sacred body of Christ a secure habitation. Firm as a rock 
must also be your heart, no power of hell, no allurement of the flesh, no 
enticement of the world should have power to cause your disloyalty to the 
divine Saviour, who has entered into your heart and to whom you have 
given yourself whole and entire. At your Easter Communion think of the 
sepulchre of Christ hewed out in a rock, and whilst you live remain faith- 
ful to the resolution you have made. Walk with constancy in the way of 
God's commandments, in the way of virtue, and confiding in the assistance 
of divine grace, often say with the Apostle: " I am sure that neither death, 
nor life, nor Angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature 
shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus 
our Lord. — Rom. 8: 38, 39. 



3. Closed with a heavy stone. As we read in the Gospel, Joseph of 
Arimathea rolled a massive stone before the entrance of the monument. 
With such a stone you, too, must secure the entrance of your heart, that 
no enemy may enter and banish your Saviour. By this stone I understand, 

(a) The careful avoiding af whatever might cause a relapse into sin, 
i. e.j the proximate occasion of sin. With those who do not shun the 
proximate occasion of sin, there is no true conversion, they will and must 
ere long relapse. It is difficult to be in the midst of fire and not burn, to 
have the opportunity to sin and not sin. St. Augustine says: "To love 
the proximate occasion, and to fall into sin are one and the same thing." 
"He that loveth danger, shall perish in it." — Ecclus. 3:27. "He that 
toucheth pitch, shall be defiled with it." — 13: 1, Example: Alipius, a 
friend of St. Augustine, had been a passionate lover of theatricals, which 
are so pernicious in their effects, but when faith began to penetrate his soul 
he generously resolved to abandon them, One day he met several friends 
who invited him to go with them, and who drew him after them as he 



84 The Way of the Cross. 

resisted. He said: "You may drag my body into the theatre, but you 
cannot direct my mind and eyes to the play. I will, therefore, be present 
and absent at the same time." And he did, indeed, sit before the stage with 
his eyes closed, but suddenly, as an immense shout of applause burst upon 
his ears, in the same instant his old passion returned and he opened his 
eyes. He relapsed into his former sins and continued in this deplorable 
condition, till the hand of God totally changed him. Here you have un- 
equivocal proof that he who does not shun the occasion of sin, does not avoid 
the actual sin. Experience: Whence does it come that drunkards, gamblers 
and the unchaste relapse into the mire of their iniquity ? Because they do 
not avoid saloons, gambling houses and familiarity with persons of the 
opposite sex. Shun, therefore, the evil occasions, especially those which 
you know have heretofore been fatal to your perseverance. Though this 
should be difficult for you to accomplish, it must be done even though it 
should entail the sacrifice of your dearest treasures. The kingdom of 
heaven suffers violence, it is not for cowards, but for those valiant warrriors 
who know how to fight and gloriously conquer. "If they right eye cause 
thee to offend, pluck it out, and cast it from thee; for it is better for thee 
that one of thy members should perish, than that thy whole body should 
be cast into hell."— Matt. 5: 30. 

(b) A diligent use of the means of amendment. Though a patient be 
convalescent, he must continue to take medicine, in order to build up his 
system. Thus it is with penitents, who, by nature, are weak and inclined 
to evil, and whose innate weakness has been much increased by their sinful 
life. They will find it impossible to avoid relapsing into their former evil 
ways, unless they have recourse to the following means. First, prayer, for 
this fortifies us with heavenly strength, that we may overcome all the ene- 
mies of our salvation. ' ' Prayer, " says St. Chrysostom, " is a saving anchor 
for him who is in danger of suffering shipwreck, an inexhaustible treasure 
for the poor, and an effectual medicine for him who desires to retain his 
health." Pray, therefore, without ceasing, but above all when the tempter 
tries to storm the citadel of your heart, for prayer is most necessary that we 
may drive him victoriously away. Another means for the preservation of 
grace is the frequent reception of the Sacraments of Penance and the Blessed 
Euchrist. The more frequently you, by a good confession, prepare to wel- 
come the divine Savior in your heart, the weaker your evil inclinations 
become, the greater power the spirit obtains over the flesh, and the more 
graces you receive to overcome temptation and to remain steadfast in good. 
Another means is the frequent renewal of our good resolutions. If you wish 
to preserve fire in a stove, you must put fuel in from time to time. In like 
manner you must renew the good resolutions you have made at your con- 
fessions, that your zeal in virtue may not grow cold and give place to 
tepidity, the forerunner of a relapse. Finally, another means is the serious 



Fourteenth Station. 85 

and frequent consideration of the four last things, according to the words: 
"In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin." — 
Ecclus. 7: 40. 

PERORATION. 

You know, now, how you are to bury your divine Savior in your heart. 
Cleanse it from every mortal sin, for he who is all purity can dwell only in 
a pure heart. If Christ has taken up his abode with you, promise him 
■eternal love and fidelity, carefully shun the occasions of sin, and avail 
3'ourselves of the means of amendment. If you do this you may hope one 
day to reign with Jesus Christ, your Saviour and Redeemer, in heaven for 
all eternity. Amen. 



LENTEN SERMONS. 



THIRD COURSE. 



SEVEN SERMONS. 



Lenten Sermons. &o 



SERMON I 



CHRIST S SUFFERINGS FOR THE SALVATION OF MANKIND. 

"He suffered under Pontius Pilate!' — Apostles Creed. 

The bitter and rude contumelies of an ungrateful world, the sorrowful 
Passion and ignominious death which Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius 
Pilate for the salvation of mankind, form the great mystery which the 
Apostles make the subject matter of our meditation in the fourth article of 
the Creed; a mystery which includes not only the superabundance of the 
great love of the Father, who sacrificed the precious life of his only-begotten 
•Son for us sinful men (John, ch. 3), but also the love of this divine Son, 
who laid down his life on the altar of the cross for mankind, urged, as it 
were, by his ineffable love for his ungrateful children. I have selected 
this mystery, namely those bitter outrages which so deeply wounded our 
divine Lord during his ignominious passion and death as the subject of 
our meditations during these penitential days. Before, however, entering 
upon the special circumstances of the dolorous Passion of our Blessed 
Redeemer, I shall speak of it in general, explaining to you — 

I. Who it was that suffered, 
II. For whom he suffered, and 
III. Why he suffered. 

These three considerations are most necessary, and are of the greatest 
importance for those who would meditate with fruit on the Passion of Christ; 
for without meditating first on these three points, the history of the Passion 
of our Savior would be of little or no advantage to them. 

1. Who is it that endured such great sufferings, such bitter sorrows, such 
protracted agonies? Who is he? Is he a saint? No, he is more than a 
saint. Is he an angel ? No; the highest angel in heaven bends low before 
his heavenly throne. He is no created spirit. Who is he ? Listen. He 
that is suffering is God himself, God suffering. It is Jesus Christ, true 
God and true man. As man he was externally, so charming and amiable, 
that David says of him, (Ps. 44), " He was beautiful above the sons ofme7i." 
The author of the Canticles compares his head to the finest gold, his locks 
to branches of palm-trees, his eyes to the eyes of doves upon brooks of 



9° 



Lenten Sermons. 



waters, which are washed with milk, and sit beside the plentiful streams,, 
his lips to lilies dropping with choice myrrh. — 5: 11— 13. He was adorned 
with such indescribable beauty and loveliness that at the very moment he 
appeared all shadows were lifted from the heart, while perfect peace and 
solace took their place. Humility sat upon him like a garment, and 
meekness had full possession of his heart, for he never opened his mouth 
to complain of the insults which were offered to him. He was most in- 
nocent; he never committed a sin, and in him neither malice nor delusion 
was found, whence he needed not to offer sacrifice for his own sins. — Heb. 
7: 27. He was merciful above all the sons of men, for his whole course 
of life was one long exercise of kindly deeds and good offices to man. 
We may also add that his physical organization was so perfect, formed, as 
he was from the pure blood of the Immaculate Virgin through the agency 
of the Holy Spirit that he was most sensitive to every pain, and felt suf- 
fering to an extraordinary degree. Who can be so hard-hearted as to refuse 
the tenderest pity at the sight of so perfect a being mocked and insulted, 
whilst the precious blood which streaming from his sacred body so changes 
the beauty of his divine countenance that he was not like another man, 
as the Sacred Scripture says ? 

But this man who was treated so cruelly, and martyred without mercy, was 
also God. God begotten by God, the divine Light, which proceeds from 
the Father, true God and true man. The Apostle says: " He is the same, 
whom God hath appointed heir of all things, by whom he also made the 
world, who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his sub- 
stance, and upholding all things, by the word of his power, sitteth at the 
right hand of his Majesty on high: being made so much better than 
the angels, who being perfectly happy in himself, begins and completes 
the happiness of the Saints. 

It is the Son of God, who assumed human flesh, became man, endured 
agony untold and died for our sins. Yes, it is the God of heaven and 
earth, who is tormented until his blood bursts forth from every pore, and 
basely betrayed by one whom he considered his friend, dragged before 
wicked judges, derided and mocked, insulted, abused, scourged at the 
pillar, crowned with thorns and crucified. It is the King of Glory, who 
submits his divine form to the lash of his meanest slaves. It is the Judge 
of the living and the dead, who, condemned to death by an unjust sentence, 
is led forth with a heavy cross on his mangled shoulders to Mount Calvary; 
who, fastened to the cross between two highway robbers, suffers death 
on that infamous gibbet. Isaias (66: 8), exclaims: ''Who hath ever heard 
such a thing; and who hath seen the like to this ?" Had one of those 
bright spirits who stand before his throne undergone such excessive suffering, 
he would deserve the highest praise. Shall we not be lost in admiration at 



Lenten Sermons. 91 

the thought ? He that suffered is God, in comparison to whom man is 
nothing, and the whole universe like a dew-drop that glitters in the morn- 
ing sun and disappears with its ardent ray. But the august Sufferer is 
far more than the highest angel in heaven. Jesus, that only-begotten Son 
of the heavenly Father, the Creator and sovereign Lord of heaven and 
earth, suffers and dies for our sins. 

It is an article of our holy faith that the divine nature of the God-man 
has not suffered, because it being essentially unchangeable, cannot suffer. 
It was the humanity of Christ that suffered and died; but because the hu- 
manity is most intimately united to the divinity, and because there is but 
one person in Christ, namely, the divine, we are right in saying that he. 
the only-begotten Son of God, consubstantial with him, and equal to him 
in power, wisdom, majesty, and all other perfections, from eternity, has 
suffered, in time, persecution, contumely, torture, crucifixion and death. 
And as — making use of an example of St. Augustine's — a man is a philo- 
sopher only according to his soul — we say, without hesitation, the philo- 
sopher has become blind, has died, has been buried — things which concern 
only the body — so Jesus Christ is the Son of God and King of Glory only 
according to his divine nature; and yet, we are right in saying, God suf- 
fered, God was crucified, God died and was buried, though these things 
regard only the human nature of Christ; for although there are two natures 
in Christ, that is, the divine and the human, there are not two Christs, but 
one only, as in the philosopher, there are not two men, but one only, not- 
withstanding the two substances in him, soul and body. Whence it fol- 
lows, that the same Jesus Christ, who is true God and true man, could be, 
and was, crowned with thorns and crucified. This was the admirable in- 
vention of God, the great miracle of his love, which caused Jesus, though 
incapable of suffering according to his divine nature, to suffer, uniting in 
the one person of the Word two natures, the human and the divine. 

2. For whom has the Son of God suffered P 

Was there perhaps some crime resting upon him of which he was con- 
scious, and for which he alone could make amends ? Or did the faint 
shadow of some imperfection dim his pure spirit, and require the cleansing 
which his precious blood alone could give ! No; for who does not know, 
as the Apostle says, that he is sanctity itself, the stainless one, the most 
pure between whom and sinners, there is a vast, an impassable gulf? Who 
does not know that he was filled with so many and such great graces, as 
to render him incapable of sinning; that in him the fulness of the Deity 
dwelt corporally, and that God acknowledged him at his baptism as his 
well beloved Son ? For whom, then, did he suffer, if he had no need to 
suffer for himself ? He left the grandeur and splendor of his heavenly 



>$2 Lenten Sermons. 

throne, assumed flesh in the womb of a Virgin, and, as a tiny babe, 
endured all the sufferings of his helpless condition. He accepted the 
bitter outrages heaped upon him by an ungrateful world. He offered him- 
self a bleeding victim on the Cross of Calvary for us miserable sinners. 
Yes, Christ bore all this for our sake, for us, who, beside his infinite 
Majesty, are nothing but dust and ashes who, like the frail leaves of the 
forest trees, are whirled aloft, the sport of every wind. He suffered for us 
wicked, sinful creatures, who not only have no power to move and to prolong 
our lives, but are even incapable of conceiving a thought of ourselves. The 
Creator has suffered for his creatures, the Lord and Master, for his ser- 
vants; the fullness of riches and power and majesty has suffered for us poor, 
weak, impotent men. But how is it possible to believe so stupendous a 
tale ? The Creator willing to suffer for his creatures ! We must believe it, 
because faith so teaches us. The Council of Nice commands us to confess: 
"I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who for us men, and 
for our salvation was crucified, suffered, died, and was buried." 

Let us imagine that a prince, burning with zeal to improve the condition 
of his subjects, and to relieve them from the sharp sting of poverty, should 
relinquish his purple, his crown and sceptre, and regarding neither pain, 
nor expense to accomplish his design, should brave the dangers of long, 
wearisome journeys, risk his life, nay, cheerfully die for the welfare of his 
people, would it not be a singular case ? And yet Jesus has done what no 
prince or king ever did for his people. His goodness and mercy arrived 
at that superabundance of love to which the love of a prince for his people 
never aspired, nor ever will; and this great love for us appears the more 
admirable the greater the distance is between God and man, and the more 
it excels the relations of a prince to his subjects. He that was mighty con- 
ceals his immensity and all for love of us. He whose kingdom is the 
kingdom of all centuries, and whose dominion is over all generations, 
became the reproach of men and the outcast of the people. — Ps. 21. The 
prophet Isaiah calls him "a man of sorrows," and such he was; for his 
whole life was a life of sorrow. He took on his shoulders all our debts. 
It is true, he was not only man, but also God. One single sigh, one little 
prayer, one tiny drop of his most precious blood would more than 
have sufficed for the sins of a thousand worlds. But this dear Saviour 
chose rigorously to satisfy the justice of God, to be despised and to endure 
the most bitter pain, all for us/ It was through this same love that he 
preferred to be considered the most abject of men, to be looked upon as 
wicked and vile. This was the prophet Isaiah's meaning in his prediction: 
"We have seen him despised and the most abject of men." 

Was there naught in our poor weak nature to win for us so priceless a 
gift as God's love ? Ah, no! but there was everything that aroused his 



Lenten Sermons. 93 

anger against us. Besides our innate insignificance and littleness there 
was in us sin, which for a being of infinite purity should naturally suffice 
to arouse his hatred and anger against us. We are all conceived in sin 
and born children of wrath, and God beheld in us rebels whom his justice 
had to condemn. But notwithstanding our insignificance and unworthi- 
ness, our divine Saviour, out of mere goodness and mercy, became our 
mediator, took upon himself all our debts, and was ready to atone for 
them, Where is the man that would give his life for a criminal, when, as 
the Apostle says: there is not to be found one who would be willing to 
lay down his life for an innocent man ! Christ did this. He died for 
criminals. He gave every drop of his precious blood that our salvation 
might be secured. He laid down his life not only for those who would 
repay him with devotion and gratitude, but for those also who would 
trample on the precious boon thus conferred. He was aware of this cruel 
return on the part of mankind; the very blackness of the ingratitude might 
have concealed it from man, but alas ! it was only too clear to our Lord. 
He knew that the greater number, the vast majority, would reap no benefit 
from his sufferings, but he would also suffer for these ungrateful people. 
Had he suffered only for those who, after having obtained the garment of 
innocence by Baptism, would preserve it with jealousy; for those only who, 
after having recovered the friendship of God in the Sacrament of Penance, 
would guard it as their most precious treasure, for those only who going 
to distant lands would tell the heathens of the Creator who so loved them 
and increase his glory by winning those savage tribes to believe in him, 
amazing and incomprehensible would be his love. But how great must 
be our admiration when we consider that he suffered for those who live 
for months and years without devoting even a moment to the meditation 
of his Passion; who, instead of gaining souls for God, are the very means of 
perverting and destroying them by the scandal they give ! And if it be the 
summit of heroic love to which man can aspire, to give his life for his 
friend, language fails to express the love of Christ, who gave his life for 
us who were not his friends, but his enemies. We were born slaves of 
sin, children of the devil, enemies of God, and yet Christ, becoming 
obedient unto death, atoned for our disobedience, died for our salvation, 
and by his death, recovered for us that bright inheritance which we had 
lost by sin, namely, liberty, grace and, the right to heaven. 

Ere yet Christ had come into the world it was overshadowed by the deep 
night of spiritual darkness, and Satan held mankind under, his sway. He 
ruled over the intellect or understanding, which was darkened by ignorance 
and error, holding it fast by chains which were forged in the fire of hell. 
He tyranized over the heart and will, enslaving them through pride, con- 
cupiscence and greed of gold. He had arrogated to himself the adoration 
which is due to God alone, and introduced idolatry into the world; mag- 



94 Lenten Sermons. 

nificent fanes arose for the worship of false deities, incense was burnt before 
the idols of Satan, and parents immolated even their children to make him 
propitious to them. Jesus Christ, by his last words on the cross, "It is 
consummated," uttered his death-warrant and when he bowed his head 
and died, he gave the death stroke to the monarch of hell. The temples 
were shaken to their center, and the idols hurled mercilessly from their 
shrines, which henceforth would be devoted to the worship of God. Christ 
himself foretold that the prince of this world would be cast out. It was 
then that St. John saw the angel coming down from heaven, having the 
key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand who laid hold of 
the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and bound him, and cast 
him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, 
that he should no more seduce the nations. — Apoc. 20: 1-3. It was then 
that man was delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into 
the kingdom of God. That infernal spirit still rages against us, it is true, 
and seeks revenge because we have escaped from his power. He is likened 
to a dog that is tied by a short chain; he may bark .at us, and terrify us 
with his sharp glistening teeth, but he cannot injure us unless we go within 
his reach, and should we, through our own negligence, receive a wound, an 
earnest reflection upon the Passion of Jesus Christ will be a powerful 
remedy against the poisonous bite of this furious Cerberus of hell. 

Besides liberty, Christ has merited grace for us. All men were conceived 
in sin and born guilty of high treason against the divine majesty, objects 
of God's anger, and sentenced to be punished for an endless eternity. That 
God might reinstate man in his favor, and elevate him again to the state of 
grace, it was necessary to appease the divine wrath and to make full repa- 
ration and satisfaction for the offense committed against him; a sacrifice 
was required sufficient to free man from all that made him abominable in 
the sight of God, but who was able to make a sacrifice of such virtue and 
efficacy? It would not suffice to offer irrational animals for rational 
beings, for though the blood of goats and oxen cleansed the flesh according 
to the law of Moses, it was never able to cleanse the conscience, and to 
take away the sins of the world. There was nothing appropriate in offering 
irrational animals for the guilt of man: a man was required, who would 
offer himself for the rest of mankind as an expiation. A rational being 
must be immolated for rational beings. Over the broad earth there was 
not one human being whose soul had not been stained by sin, and could 
one equally guilty with the rest efface the transgressions of others ? That 
the sacrifice might be a rational one a man was to be sacrificed; and that 
as a result of this sacrifice men might be cleansed from their sins, a man 
without sin must be offered. This man without sin was Jesus Christ, who, 
in a mysterious manner, was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by the agency 
of the Holy Ghost, and who was of the same nature as the rest of men, but 



Lenten Sermons. 95 

free from the slightest shadow of sin. This God-man Christ, offered him- 
self a bleeding expiation to his Father, saying to him at his entrance into 
the world: "Sacrifices and oblations, and holocausts for sin, thou hast not 
desired, neither are they pleasing to thee, which are offered to thee accord- 
ing to the law. Then said I: 'Behold, I come to do thy will, O God.' " 
— Heb. 10: 8, 9. In this will we are sanctified by means of the offering of 
the body of Jesus Christ. What was indeed impossible for any other sacri- 
fice to accomplish, Christ accomplished by his Passion and death on the 
cross. He washed our souls in his blood, appeased God's wrath, and 
made peace between heaven and earth. 

All men having contracted a heavy debt, divine justice required that the 
honor of which God had been deprived by sin, should be restored to him 
and this satisfaction no other save the God-man could bestow. The offence 
being offered to the infinite majesty of God, the atonement must be made 
by a person of infinite majesty, and this person could be no other than 
Jesus Christ, who, in the quality of true God and true man, taking on 
himself our guilt and the punishment due to it as man, was able to give 
it an infinite value as God. Offering himself, therefore, to his Father, he 
offered him a ransom which not only equalled our guilt, but outweighed 
it ; wherefore, St. Paul says : that if the guilt was great, the grace was 
abundant. All the spiritual treasures, which in such superabundance are 
offered to us, the Sacraments which he instituted for our sake, the graces 
which we have received and still receive, are the fruits of that price 
which Jesus paid for us by his Passion and death ; a price by which he 
recovered for us besides liberty and grace, the right to a home beyond the 
skies. 

Jesus Christ endured these sufferings and a cruel death, not only to de- 
liver us from the power of the devil, who unhappily had made us his 
slaves, not only to reconcile us to God, whose anger was aroused against 
us, but also to open a pathway for us into heaven. The Old Testament furn- 
ishes us with a beautiful figure of this particular favor. In the book of Num- 
bers we read that God said to Moses : When you shall have passed over 
the Jordan, into the land of Canaan, determine what cities shall be for 
the refuge of fugitives who shed blood against their will. And when the 
fugitive shall be in them, the kinsman of him that is slain, may not have 
power to kill him, until he stand before the multitude and his cause be 
judged, and if he be found innocent, he shall be delivered from the hand 
of the avenger, and shall be brought back by sentence into the city whence 
he had fled, and he shall abide there until the death of the high-priest 
that is anointed with oil. God wished to say by this command that no 
one, though no stain had marred the pure whiteness of his soul, could be 
permitted to enter into heaven before the death of the eternal High-priest, 



g6 Lenten Sermons. . 

who is Christ Jesus. Adam waited through the weary course of centuries, 
with his descendants, exiled from their heavenly home ; even the Patriarchs 
and Prophets remained also excluded until the High-priest completed his 
sacrifice on the cross. It was then that the gates of heaven, which for 
four thousand years had been barred against mankind, were opened and re- 
mained open, and still remain open for all the souls that make themselves 
partakers of the merits of the Passion and death of Jesus Christ. 

When the loving Saviour, the Holy One, the pure and spotless Redeemer 
chose to suffer persecutions, contumelies, tortures and death, is it not just 
that we, who are denied by many sins and iniquities, should bear the suf- 
ferings of this life with patience and resignation to the will of God ? 
When God suffered so much for us sinful men, is it right that we suffer 
nothing for our sins ? Is it right that we renounce no pleasure for his 
sake, that we do not restrain our sinful inclinations ? When Christ en- 
dured such anguish that we might be freed from the power of the devil, 
reinstated in the favor of his Father, and enabled to enter heaven by the 
pathway which he opened for us, is it right and prudent for us to re-enter 
the ranks of his enemy, to assume the livery of the devil and to close the 
heavenly portals against us ? When God retired into the desert and fasted 
forty days and forty nights for our sakes, is it right that you should live in 
gluttony during this holy season ? Will you do no penance for your sins ? 
Some of you are, perhaps, dispensed from the rigorous observance of Lent, 
but you are not, and cannot be dispensed from the obligation of doing 
penance. One fast is incumbent upon you all. There is no dispensation 
from the fast of sin, it binds you all alike, young and old, sick and 
healthy, rich and poor, it binds all — in all places, at all times, during the 
whole course of their life. Now is the acceptable time, this is the day of 
salvation, the present is yours ; by employing it well, you may escape a 
miserable eternity. Let us not suffer these days of grace to glide away 
unacceptable to God and unprofitable to ourselves, lest we die in our sins, 
a misfortune which God, in his infinite mercy, may avert from us all. Amen. 



SERMON II. 



THE MENTAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 

" My soul is sorrowful even unto death" — Matt. 26 : 38. 

The evil which the unhappy fall of our first parents brought on all man- 
kind and with which all are infected, is threefold, as St. John says : All 
that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence 



Lenten Sermons. 97 

of the eyes, and the pride of life. Scarce had the forbidden fruit passed the 
lips of Adam than he recognized the transformation which had taken 
place over his affections and inclinations, there had passed an utter change, 
and this change affected all men. Inasmuch as he himself after the first 
sin, was drawn to sinful objects, for which, in the state of grace, he had 
no inordinate desire, so all his descendants are born with an inclination 
that draws them from spiritual and divine things to objects which are ' ' of the 
earth earthly " and urges them to seek for terrestrial joys. Whence it 
comes that man sets his consolation in the perishable goods of this life, his 
greatness in the attainment of honors and dignities, and his pleasure in the en- 
joyment of lust. Alas ! he plunges recklessly and most deplorably forward, 
becoming immersed in an ocean of happiness which he finds as empty as dead 
sea fruit. Jesus Christ, the second Adam, left the magnificence of heaven to 
free a world, which repaid his benefits with ingratitude, from all imper- 
fection, places his tribulation against the vanity of human consolation, his 
love of contempt against the vanity of human greatness, his tortures and 
pains against the vanity of human pleasures, Abandoning himself to an 
interior anguish, suffering disgrace in his honor, and excruciating cor- 
poral pains, he made use of the right means to heal those three deadly 
wounds of which mankind was lying sick. / shall speak to you to-day 
only of the interior sufferings which fesus endured during the whole caurse of 
his life and, particularly, in the Garden of Olives. 

Having taken the last supper with his disciples, after which he instituted 
the Sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist, having given the commandment 
to love one another, and recommended to his heavenly Father in fervent 
prayer all who would believe in him, Jesus passed over the brook Cedron, 
which divides Jerusalem from Mount Olivet, where there was a garden, 
called the garden of Olives. Into the garden he went accompanied by 
his disciples. How different was this garden from the one in which God 
had placed the first man. In the garden of Paradise was the tree 
of life ; in this Christ could pluck only the fruits of death. Through 
the former flowed the limpid waters of four lovely streams, which moistened 
the verdant grass, and rendered the place as fertile as it was charming to 
behold. Their musical murmur was but one of the many joys connected 
with Paradise. The garden of Olives, half hidden in the most desolate 
spot of the bleak, lonely mountain, was moistened by the tears and the 
blood of a God-man. The first presented a living picture of the happy state 
of the blessed, the second was a vivid type of the tortures which were 
the heritage that Adam's sin won for man. The first man was placed in 
Paradise to enjoy all possible pleasures, but the second went into this to 
endure the most intense agony and pain. Scarce had his sacred foot pressed 
the ground than, as the Scripture phrase expresses it, he was plunged into 
a sea of suffering, and so great an anguish arose in his soul that it would 



9 8 Lenten Sermons. 

have killed him had not his omnipotence preserved him from death. A 
sadness so deep that not one ray of light could pierce its gloom, an ex- 
ceeding great terror overwhelmed his beautiful soul. The waves of deso- 
lation swept over him and made him feel the pains that were to come, the 
more violently, the more he buried them deep, deep, in his sorrowful heart. 
At last that over-charged heart pathetically revealed its grief to his disciples 
when he said : " My soul is sorrowful even unto death. " But you will say : 
what ? anguish, fear, and sorrow with the Lord, who is the comforter of the 
afflicted here, the joy and happiness of the Angels and Saints in heaven ! 
Yes, and it was for our sakes that he became sorrowful unto death. He 
knew all the agony that was to come upon him ; he had the shadow of the 
cross always before him, and had his sufferings foretold to his disciples in these 
words : "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, where the Son of man shall be 
betrayed to the chief priests; and they shall condemn him to death, and 
they shall deliver him to the Gentiles, and they shall mock him, spit upon 
him, scourge and crucify him." He had told them that he would drink 
the bitter chalice, and be baptized by a hard baptism. He voluntarily of- 
fered himself as an expiation for the sins of mankind, and at his entrance 
into the world, he promised his Father this great and magnanimous sacri- 
fice. Now the hour had come to taste of the bitter chalice, to receive the 
baptism of tribulation, to take the first step in the stupenduous sacrifice, 
and Jesus permitted himself to be seized with anguish, fear and sorrow, 
prostrate with his face on the earth. Think not that the courage of the 
divine Victim faltered, or that weakness caused this terrible conflict in his 
soul. This was an effect of his infinite love, which, in a miraculous man- 
ner, made these various affections enter therein. He was not confused 
and grieved by the weakness of his soul, but by the power of his love. 

The greatest bodily suffering, and the bitterest desolation of spirit were 
alike welcome, the rage of the Jews and the cruelty of the executioners were 
able to torture his body only, his soul was beyond their reach. The scourg- 
ing, the thorns, the nails, and all the instruments used by malice, wounded 
and lacerated his flesh, but could not destroy the peace of his soul. The ex- 
cess of his love for mankind became the inventive executioner which devised 
a method whereby his mind also shared the torture of his bodily pains. It 
was that mighty love that deprived his soul of that sweetness into which, as 
in an ocean of bliss, it was plunged by the ecstatic enjoyment of God. It 
was his love for us which, after having taken the last vestige of solace from 
his soul, left it a prey to excruciating pains, and portrayed in vivid colors 
the sorrows that were to come. The presentiment of an impending calamity 
is able to strike terror even into the most courageous heart. The Sacred 
Scripture relates that the two servants of Pharao who were in prison with 
Joseph were thrown into a pitiable state of terror by a dream which they 
feared portended some evil. When the mere apprehension of such a thing 



Lenten Sermons. 99 

could thus affect them we may imagine the inward anguish which the cer- 
tainty of impending trouble and the clear knowledge of its circumstances 
would cause in man. And no man could fully know these like Jesus. 
Man. how much soever he may be afflicted in this world, is never wholly 
destitute of solace, nor always deprived of relief. Thus our merciful God 
treats us, his ungrateful and rebellious children. But has he not seemed 
less kind to his beloved Son, whose life in this world was an uninterrupted 
succession of afflictions from the crib to the cross ? Again, men suffer 
afflictions, but it is only during the time that they suffer them, because they can- 
not tell what the future will bring. But Jesus having, as God, a knowl- 
edge of all that it held in its depths, had not one moment's ease while he 
lived. Besides the actual pains of the moment he felt the pangs of all 
those which were held in reserve, especially the outrages of his most sor- 
rowful Passion; having always before his eyes his scourging at the pillar, 
his crowning with thorns, his crucifixion and death, with all the horrors of 
desolation that accompanied it. 

The anguish and interior dereliction which the soul of Jesus endured in 
the garden of Olives, not only equalled the sufferings of the body, but were 
incomparably greater. It is true, the tortures which he endured in the 
members of his body during the time of his Passion, were manifold and 
cruel, but it was only during the time that he suffered them. First, he was 
scourged, then he was crowned with thorns; the executioners ceased from 
one kind of cruelty before they began another. How different soever the 
instruments of his executioners were, each one was calculated only to tor- 
ture a certain part of his body. If an executioner were cruel and inventive 
enough to make a man feel various tortures at one and the same time, how 
much greater would be the pains. In such a manner the damned are 
punished. There is not one species of torture which the fire of hell does 
not inflict at one and the same time on those wretched lost souls, and, 
similarly, did the ardent fire of that love which Jesus had for man torture 
his soul in the garden of Olives. This inexpressible love made him feel, 
at one and the same time, the thorns and the nails with which he was 
fastened to the cross, so that he could say of himself what is written in the 
Psalms: " The tortures of hell have surrounded me." I know no figure, 
which will more vividly present to your minds the appalling situation in 
which our Saviour was placed in consequence of his foreknowledge of his 
future sufferings, than that of unhappy Job. Overwhelmed with sorrow, 
the afflicted man sat in the midst of those who had hastened, one after 
another to bring him tidings of great misfortunes and terrible catastrophies. 
One messenger said: "The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding 
beside them, and the Sabines rushed in and took all away and slew all thy 
servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell thee. " And 
while he was yet speaking, another came, saying: "The Chaldeans made 



ioo Lenten Sermons. 

three troops, and have fallen upon the camels and taken them; moreover., 
they have slain thy servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to 
tell thee." He was yet speaking, when, behold, another came in and said: 
"Thy sons and daughters were eating and drinkiug wine in the house oi 
their elder brother. A violent wind came on a sudden from the side of 
the desert, and shook the four corners of the house, and it fell upon thy 
children, and they are all dead, and I alone have escaped to tellthee. ,r 
One alone of these calamities would have been sufficient to depress his 
spirits, and you may easily imagine the impression which such an unpre- 
cedented array, at one and the same time smiting his ear and heart, would 
make on the unhappy man. He rent his garments, and overwhelmed by 
the thought of his misfortunes, fell down upon the ground. But multiplied 
as were his trials they were but a faint shadow of what Jesus endured. All 
the tortures and pains which the hatred and malice of the Jews could in- 
vent were mercilessly poured out upon him at once, and at the mere 
thought, he grew pale, trembled, and was filled with desolation and sadness. 
The terrible agony, the dread herald of death, was upon him, and was the 
greater because the sufferings still to come were so excessively cruel. And 
as to aggravate the misery of the afflicted Job, he was struck with a grievous 
ulcer, from the top of his head to the sole of his foot, so the horrid wounds 
of mankind were joined to the impending sufferings of the Redeemer, in 
order to increase his interior tortures. These wounds are the sins of men, 
so incalculable in number, and so awful in malice, that, with justice, they 
are called in the Sacred Scripture streams of iniquity. He bore all our 
iniquity, because God put on him all our guilt. He saw himself marked 
with the sign of sinners. The holy, the sinless-one might well be stricken 
with horror at the sight of so many and such grievous transgressions, and 
sink beneath a burden made up of the millions upon millions of sins of 
which mankind throughout all time had been, and would, until the end of 
the world, still be guilty, and of all those that will be committed to the 
end of time. He felt the disobedience of Adam, the fratricide of Cain, the 
adultery of David, the idolatry of Solomon, all the sins of impurity of 
Sodom aud Gomorrah, all the abominations of the Gentiles, all the ingrati- 
tude of the people of Israel, all the blasphemies that were ever uttered, all 
the horrible perjuries, sacrileges, debaucheries, homicides, and in fact, 
every kind of the basest crimes and iniquities were laid on his shoulders. 
What horror must have seized him, beholding so many and such great sins, 
and what torture to see himself laden with them ! To understand the 
greatness of the desolation which the aspect of the sins of mankind pro- 
duced in his soul we should be able to comprehend the greatness of sin. 
Ah, if it were given to us to know the greatness, the enormity and malice 
of mortal sin, we ourselves would be seized with horror, and wonder 
no more at what is related of some penitents, who, being enlightened 
by God, and comprehending the greatness and malice of mortal sin. 



Lenten Sermons. ioi 

became a prey to death. Now Christ had a perfect knowledge of the 
turpitude of sin, such as no other man can have, and knowing also 
the greatness and majesty of God, he clearly saw the malice and base- 
ness of sin, by which God is most cruelly outraged and offended. What 
then must have been the torture of his oppressed heart, when the millions 
upon millions of sins, by which his Father was offended, were present 
before his eyes ! He was grieved as much as all men together should have 
been grieved, because the sins of all men were resting on his shoulders. 

We might, however, suppose that, when he was animated by the 
desire to redeem mankind by his Passion and death on the cross, 
this desire sweetened the bitterness which the knowledge of the future tor- 
tures and the sight of sin caused him. He knew that by his death on the 
cross he would destroy the kingdom of the devil, reconcile man with God, 
merit for him liberty and the right to heaven. Desiring the salvation of 
man so ardently, we might suppose, I say, that this consideration gave 
him great comfort in his sufferings. The thought of the combat making 
•him sad, the certainty of the victory must have strengthened him, the fore- 
taste of the tortures- to which he was to submit, discouraging him, the 
superabundance of the fruits which he was to reap must have inspired him 
with courage, and trembling at the array of the many sins, by which God 
was offended, the thought, that, by his Passion and death, the glory of his 
Father would be re-established must have filled him with joy. But, this 
very desire to glorify his Father and to save man, became to him a fountain 
of sorrows. He longed, O! how unutterably, to destroy sin, and in the 
interests of this cherished aim he was willing to lay down his life, and to 
shed the last drop of his precious blood. Loving mankind with an eternal 
love, he longed that they all might know God and love him, and that 
through this knowledge and love, they might be saved. Alas ! it was all 
the while but too apparent that his exertions would be useless for the 
greater part of mankind. He realized that his great sufferings would be, 
by the majority, unheeded, and that man would go on piling sin upon sin. 
He foresaw that, though many, that is, all are called, but few would be 
chosen. The vast multitude of heathens rose up before his eyes, and look- 
ing into the very depths of their stubborn hearts, he knew that they would 
close their eyes against the light of faith, and would refuse to give to God 
the adoration which was his due. Then too arose with clearest vision 
before his mind the many heretics, who, instead of seriously seeking the 
one true Church established by him, would follow their own systems, 
according as interest and prejudice would lead them, whose quest for self 
would be far more eager than their search after truth. Moreover, he 
saw many, even of the believers, for whom his holy doctrine would, alas ! 
be a wasted boon; that they would derive no profit from it, but, leading a 



102 Lenten Sermons. 

life, according to their inclinations, would prefer rather to offend God than 
break with the world. What anguish must this conviction have produced 
in his mind ! 

When a woman, after suffering great pains, brings forth a living child, 
such is her joy that she scarcely remembers the pains she endured. But 
if, after great labor, she brings forth a dead child, she is grieved and al- 
most inconsolable. Jesus Christ was going to bring forth children of God 
in the garden of Olives, and foreseeing that so many would be lost he was 
sorely grieved. O ! how bitterly sorrowful he was when he thought that 
his sufferings for man's eternal welfare, reaching even unto the ignominious 
death on the cross would, with the vast majority, be of no avail. Had he 
not realized that his precious blood would be shed in vain for so many 
who would not partcipate in the merits of his Passion, the pains would not 
have been so keenly felt. But a numberless multitude of people of every 
state, sex, and age, presented themselves before his mind, who notwithstand- 
ing the magnitude of his sufferings, would for ever remain excluded from 
the kingdom of heaven, and it was this that increased his sorrow, making 
it almost too great to be borne. He was, as it were, over and over telling 
himself the cruel truth : "lam shedding my blood for the salvation of 
all, yet only a few shall be saved. I am laying down my life to pre- 
pare an acceptable people for God, who would honor him by doing his 
holy will, but they will continue to live in sin, and never cease to dishonor 
and offend him. In vain do I labor, in vain do I exhaust my strength. " 
In this state of depression he sought comfort and help from his heavenly 
Father ; prostrate on the ground he prayed : " O my Father ! if it is pos- 
sible, let this chalice pass from me : nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou 
wilt." These words make known to us the interior contradiction that ex- 
isted between the higher nature, which was ready to die, and the inferior, 
which feared, and longed to escape, the death which awaited him. Having 
finished his prayer, he said to his disciples : "Rise, let us go, behold, the 
hour is at hand : and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of 
sinners. And as yet he spoke, behold Judas, one of the twelve, came, and 
with him a great multitude, with swords and clubs, sent from the chief 
priests and ancients of the people. And he that betrayed him gave them 
a sign saying: "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he." Ah! who cap 
measure the extent to which this base treason increased the sorrow, the 
anguish of Jesus ? What torture of mind was it for him to see himself be- 
trayed by one of his disciples, to see himself betrayed with a kiss, the token 
of friendship, love and peace — betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, the 
ordinary price then paid for a common slave ! O ! the indscribable sweet- 
ness with which the Saviour addressed him : "Does my love for thee meet 
with the return of an ingratitude, the like of which was never known be- 
fore, of a treachery and perfidiousness the basest of the base. Friend, 



Lenten Sermons. 



03 



whereto art thou come, Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man with a 
kiss ? If an enemy had done this it would cause me no pain, but thou 
betrayest me, thou Judas, my beloved child, my apostle, thou who wert 
sitting with me at the same table. Ah, the prophecy is verified : ' He 
that eats bread with me raises his heel against me/" Yes, of all the bitter 
phases of Christ's most bitter Passion, this treason on the part of his faithless 
apostle caused him the keenest pang, and nothing inflicted a greater blow 
than the thought : Judas prepares for himself eternal damnation, while I 
am enduring all for his salvation. 

And now, my brethren, you have a faint picture of the interior anguish 
which Jesus endured in the garden of Olives. There are three reasons for 
this mental suffering, as already stated : the impending painful death, the 
sins of the world, and the loss of so many souls. He was willing, nay, glad to 
suffer the tortures of the body, even though his inferior nature beheld them 
with shuddering dread. The sins of mankind caused him an inexpressible 
anguish, he felt an overpowering sadness at the loss of so many soufs, for 
who so well knew the value of an immortal soul ? Should not this teach 
us to regard every trial which may arise in our path, and all the crosses 
which we meet during life as a means of liquidating the debt we have 
contracted with God ? But, O my God, how different are our af- 
ections and feelings from those of thy divine Son ! We know that we 
have sinned exceedingly, that we have sinned against heaven and earth, 
but the thought of atoning for our constant transgressions by walking 
in the way of the cross never seems to occur to our minds. Instead 
of accepting sickness, afflictions and the tribulations of this life with 
patience and resignation to the will of God, we complain and murmur 
against God, and thus impatience adds new sins to our list. O ! what 
difference there is between the manner in which we look upon sin, and the 
form in which it appeared to our suffering Lord. We are wholly absorbed 
by the goods and pleasures of this world, think constantly on what is of 
"the earth earthly," and seldom raisetour hearts to "the things which are 
above where Christ is." We scarcely ever consider what a terrible thing it 
is to offend the majesty of God, and hence, sin appears to us but a trifle. 
No marvel then, my brethren, that we are calm ancf unconcerned at the 
thought of our guilt, when Christ was troubled and confused, that we en- 
joy pleasures, when he was grieved, that we shed not a single tear when he 
shed blood. O ! surely we cannot realize even faintly what sin is ! If we 
did our whole life would become thoroughly changed. 

Let us henceforth live in piety, in the fear and love of God ; let us lov- 
ingly remember the grief and sorrow of Jesus, and let our great dread, 
our chief fear be to offend God. O ! let me exhort you to sleep no longer 
in the arms of perdition, to remain no longer in the deplorable state of 



104 Lenten Sermons. 

mortal sin, but to renounce sin, without any further delay ? O ! give up 
the criminal habits of cursing, swearing, blaspheming and all detestable 
vices which now enslave so many unhappy sinners, make them enemies of 
God, objects of his hatred, slaves of the devil, a scandal to religion, and a 
disgrace to the Church, amongst whose children they profess to be. O come, 
come all, Christ is waiting for you, his arms are outstretched to receive 
you, he calls you, he invites you, oh ! come to the sure refuge of his 
precious wounds. If to-day, then, his voice sounds sweetly in your hearts, 
O! my brethren, respond to his call. 



SERMON III 



THE TRIAL. 



il I am a worm, and no man, the reproach of men, and the outcast of the 
people." — Ps. 21 : 7. 

As Christ placed his interior anguish as an unfailing cure for those vain 
and fleeting joys which captivate and engross man, so, too, he chose to en- 
dure outrage and disgrace to crush down human pride, which leads us to 
constantly seek distinction and honor. To try and realize the extent of 
these interior pains would be for us a vain attempt, because they were in- 
ward. Here I am to do nothing else than to place before your eyes what the 
Evangelists relate. You will see your Redeemer so dishonored, so humbled, 
and so debased that he could truly say by the mouth of the prophet: "I 
am a worm, and no man, the reproach of men, and the outcast of the 
people." — Ps. 21: 7. 

The traitor Judas gave the sign, and the soldiers surrounded Jesus. 
They cruelly bound him as if he were a robber or a murderer; they bound 
him, I say, lest he should escape their hands, and conducted him into the 
city as conquerors rejoice after taking a prey, when they divide the spoils. 
— Is. 9:3. O! pause one brief moment and consider the confusion, the deep 
shame of the God-man. He, who according to his human nature, in whose 
veins flowed the royal blood of David's honored house, and who, accord- 
ing to his divine nature, looked down from infinite heights upon all men 
and Angels, was taken by a set of the basest and lowest ruffians, and ex- 
posed to the scoffs and mockery of a most wicked and dissolute soldiery. 
The same hands that created heaven and earth, that gave motion to the 



Lenten Sermons. 105 

planets and poised the universe, that performed so many miracles, were 
tied with ropes and, like a prisoner, all fettered with chains. The more 
exalted the rank and dignity of a man, the more heinous the affront that is 
offered him. Now can aught more outrageous be imagined than the in- 
sult which the God-man then received ? Those wicked men laid their 
sacrilegious hands upon him, took him prisoner and treated him as the 
worst malefactor ? The Creator chained by his creatures ! Was there ever 
so wicked, so atrocious an act ? But even this outrageous treatment he 
"bore with meekness, although, had he asked aid, the Eternal Father would 
have sent more than twelve legions of Angels from their heavenly home. 
He had power to make his enemies recoil backward to the ground and to 
destroy them, but he would not — out of love for us sinful men. He 
allowed himself to be dishonored by the arrogance of these furious and 
bloodthirsty monsters. The measure was not yet full. And O ! how his 
ignominy was intensified when the time approached for him to appear 
before Jerusalem in chains, and attended by the vilest rabble ! But a few 
brief fleeting days had passed since he had entered Jerusalem in triumph. 
The loud hosannas and acclamations of the people, who believed in him 
and acknowledged him as the promised Messiah and Redeemer of the 
world rent the air, and their rich robes were spread in his path. Behold 
him now about to meet those people in chains, guarded by soldiers, and 
reviled as a man guilty of most heinous crimes. When the king of the 
Ammonites shaved off one-half of the beard and cut off one-half of the 
garments of the ambassadors of David and sent them away, their shame 
and confusion to appear before their king were so great that they stayed at 
Jericho till their beards were grown, then they returned to Jerusalem. And 
yet, they could expect kindness and sympathy both from monarch and 
subjects, and felt sure every one would scorn the wicked insult which 
Hannon, by violating the law of nations so shamefully, had offered to 
ambassadors. Far otherwise was it with our Saviour. When he was led 
into Jerusalem, weary, mournful, and guarded as a criminal, there was 
none who had compassion on him, and he received from the fickle people 
nothing but contempt. And those even who had listened to his heavenly 
doctrine, and beheld the many wonders he performed, regarded him as a 
crafty impostor, when, at the command of the high-priest, they beheld them 
bind the Redeemer, the friend of mankind. This was their mode of 
reasoning: the high-priest would not have acted in this manner if his im- 
positions had not been discovered. They, therefore took it for granted 
that he was an impostor, and as such deserved the greatest punishment. 
The people cried out: "Behold, see there! Jesus of Nazareth, who 
preached a new doctrine and announced himself to be the promised Mes- 
siah; O! look they are dragging him to prison/' O! Christians, let your 
own hearts tell the depths of ignominy and shame into which Christ sank 
as he listened to their words. After entering Jerusalem in so humiliating 



106 Lenten Sermons. 

a manner, he was led to Annas, and from him to Caiphas, who was high- 
priest for that year. There the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the ancients of 
the people were assembled. The high-priest questioned him regarding his 
disciples and his doctrine. He thus made answer: "I have spoken openly 
to the world, I have always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, 
whither all the Jews resort, and in secret I have spoken nothing. Why 
askest thou me ? Ask them who have heard what I have spoken unto 
them; behold, they know what things I have said." And when he had 
thus spoken one of the hirelings standing near dared to strike Jesus, saying, 
" Answerest thou the high-priest so ? " A wicked soldier gave Jesus a blow 
in his sacred face and reprimanded him for having answered the high-priest 
irreverently. Was Jesus not right in telling the high-priest to ask those 
who had heard him ? Is not the evidence of others, rather than that of 
the criminal who is arraigned at the bar, to be weighed in a court of jus- 
tice ? Would they have believed him ? That face which was transfigured 
on Mount Thabor and appeared as brilliant as the sun, the same face that 
ravishes the Saints, and before the splendor of which the Angels veil their 
faces with their wings, became the object of the insolence of a servant, a 
common soldier. This wicked servant had sufficient assurance before the 
eyes of the judge, of the court, and against every law, to abuse that innocent 
man, for even his bitterest foes dared not say that he had been found guilty. 
And not one of the whole assembly opened his lips at this act of disrespect 
to the Son of God. No one spoke, not even the judge, whose duty it 
certainly was to punish that servant for assuming to himself an authority 
which belonged not unto him, but to the judge. Christ, who came into 
this world not to make an ostentatious display of his omnipotence, was, 
indeed, grievously offended by such an indignity from so base and abject 
a source. But as his mission upon earth was to inculcate humility and 
patience he gave no evidence of anger, and would most probably have kept 
silence had not that servant accused him of violating the reverence due 
the high-priest. In order to leave no room for suspicion, and show that 
he had proper respect for the high-priest, he said: "If I have spoken ill, 
give testimony of the evil, but if well, why strikest thou me ? " This answer 
should have sufficed to enlighten them and to soften their hearts. 

Of all that assembly there was not one who thought of punishing that 
base hireling, who, full of insolence, had assumed to himself judicial au- 
thority before their eyes, by outrageously insulting Christ. Even the high- 
priest had not a word of reproach ! Consumed with hatred towards Jesus, 
and eager to see him dead, and to have his memory obliterated from the 
earth, they deliberated how they might accomplish their wicked design 
under the pretence and appearance of justice. Hence, they sought false 
witnesses, who should accuse him of the crimes they alleged against him, 
that they might put him to death. Although many came with their tales 



Lenten Sermons. 107 

of his guilt, their testimonies were so conflicting that they could not be 
considered sufficient to put him to death, thus verifying what the royal 
prophet says: "Many false witnesses have risen against me, and injustice 
hath betrayed itself." Last of all two witnesses came in and said: " We 
have heard this man say, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and in 
three days to rebuild it. " The high-priest rising, and turning to Jesus, 
said: "Answerest thou nothing to the things which they witness against 
thee?" But Jesus held his peace. And the high-priest said to him: "I 
adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us if thou be Christ the Son of 
God?" Jesus said: "Thou hast said it: Nevertheless, I say to you, 
hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the 
power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven. " Then the high-priest 
rent his garments, saying: " He hath blasphemed, what further need have 
we of witnesses? behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. " And all 
that were present said: " He is guilty of death." 

From this simple narrative of St. Matthew, the immense injustice which 
was committed against Christ- on this occasion can be recognized at a 
glance. So far from seeking for those who would give the Saviour a fair 
trial, men burning with hatred judged our persecuted Lord. TJie testis 
mony of hired witnesses, who disagreed with one another was heard, and 
without further inquiry, the testimony which he had given to truth was de- 
clared blasphemy. He who had never ceased his efforts for the honor of God, 
and who had so often repeated that he was not seeking his own honor ; 
he who knew that it was no robbery to call himself the Son of God, was 
branded as a blasphemer. The wicked judge refused to believe his word ; 
ah ! why did he not believe his works ? Did they not speak for him ? 
Far louder than words did his works confirm his truth. Behold! the blind 
upon whose darkened vision he had let in the glad, free light of day. Look 
at the lame whose helpless limbs had at his word assumed full vigor. Did 
not the dumb to whom he gave the power of speech, the sick whom, from 
a bed of pain, he had raised up to health, and the dead whom he had called 
from death's cold embrace, bear testimony, alike, to his truth ? These 
miracles had not been wrought in closets or retired places. They had 
been the wonder of Judea and Galilee. And this his wicked judges knew 
full well, but every feeling of justice and humanity being extinguished 
jn their hearts, their malice dared to call him a balsphemer. O ! 
what inexpressible pain it must have caused our dear Saviour to stand be- 
fore the people of Jerusalem branded as a blasphemer. Had only one 
of the many who had heard his doctrine, witnessed his miracles, partaken 
of his benefits, had only one, I say, indignant at the falsehood, defended 
him from their malice, it would have been a sweet solace to his desolate 
heart. But no one spoke in his favor. He who had ever befriended all, 
stood alone. His disciples forsook him, even Peter, who had so publicly 



108 Lenten Sermons. 

vaunted his courage swore that he did not even know him, thus verifying 
what the prophet said in his name : "I am a worm, and no man, the re- 
proach of men and the outcast of the people." 

It remained, therefore, decreed in the council of these wicked maligners, 
that Jesus was guilty of death. This was the sure prelude to his sentence, 
and the soldiers regarding him as a legitimate object of sport, treated 
him most cruelly all through the long weary hours of the following night. 
Some spat in his face and buffeted him, others struck him with the palm of 
their hands, saying in derision : ' ' Prophesy unto us, Christ, who it was 
that struck thee ? " The King of kings, the Lord of lords, suffered all 
this for an ungrateful world. Spitting in the face was considered by the 
Jews so disgraceful, that if a father spat upon the face of his daughter, she 
was to be ashamed for seven days at least. — Num. 12 : 14. How great 
must have been the shame of Christ, when a set of the vilest and basest 
ruffians dared to defile his holy face with their spittle. The contumely and 
disgrace he suffered that night were so great that he was filled with humil- 
iation. He, before whom the powers of heaven and earth tremble, whose 
very name causes the demons in hell to shudder with horror, became a 
subject of laughter for malicious men, so that he could most justly ex- 
claim : "I am a Worm, and no man, the reproach of men, and the out- 
cast of the people." 

The night had passed, the terrible night which held such bitter sorrow 
in its depths, the most memorable day in the history of the world 
began to dawn, and behold! the high-priest and the ancients of the peo- 
ple assembled again, and took council against Christ, as they had done the 
day before in the house of Caiphas, that they might put him to death. 
But for the execution of that sentence the approbation of Pilate, who, un- 
der the Roman Emperor, was then governor of Judea, was required. The 
Jews brought him bound to Pontius Pilate, that he might condemn him to be 
crucified, and now fresh disgrace confronts our suffering Redeemer — insult 
and outrage are cast in his path at every step — his sacred hands are tied, 
no covering on his head except his waving locks, his countenance pale and 
dejected, and his entire mien expressive of the deepest sorrow. Looked 
oipon as a malefactor, he is led through the streets of Jerusalem. The curi- 
ous gaze upon him from the windows, the rabble gather to see him, and 
instead of sympathizing with him, they overwhelm him with mockery and 
abuse. Arrived at the governor's palace, the chief-priest delivered him to 
Pilate. Pilate, seeing him in such a pitiable condition, turned to the 
multitude saying : What accusation do you bring against him. In the 
most insolent manner came the answer : " If he were no malefactor we 
would not have delivered him to thee. We have found him perverting our na- 
tion and forbidding to give tribute to Ccesar and saying that he is Christ the 



Lenten Sermons. 109 

Son of God" Pilate asked him : Art thou the king of the Jews ? He 
answered and said : Thou sayest it. And Pilate said to the chief-priest 
and the multitude : I find no cause in him. He hesitated to pronounce 
the sentence which the cruel Jews desired, being not entirely blinded by 
the envy and hatred that corroded their hearts, he wished to let the law take 
its course, and to give the accused a fair trial. Having examined the case 
with the prudence and circumspection of an impartial judge, he could 
find nothing but innocence in Christ, and malice, envy, and hatred in his 
accusers ; hence, he proclaimed aloud that he could find no cause in him 
to put him to death. Now the Jews, growing desperate, lest their prey should 
escape, cried out : He stirs up the people throughout Judea and Galilee. 
Pilate hearing them speak of Galilee, asked them if the man was from Galilee. 
He seized this opportunity to be freed from the persistence of the Jews, who 
would compel him to condemn an innocent man to death. Hearing that Christ 
was from Galilee, which belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to 
Herod, who was in Jerusalem at that time, and was, at the same time, en- 
abled to become reconciled to Herod, without compromising his dignity. 
They had been at variance for some time, and this would be an overture 
for friendship. Thus our Lord was compelled to go from Pilate to Herod, 
and at every step of the lo»g and painful walk he was exposed to new in- 
sults from the clamorous crowd. Herod was exceedingly gratified to be- 
hold Jesus, he had long wished to see him, having heard that he wrought, 
great wonders and he hoped to see him perform some of those marvellous 
works. He questioned him in many words, to all of which he answered 
not a word. And, therefore, Herod and his men mocked him, putting on 
him a white garment, to indicate that Christ was a fool, and sent him back 
to Pilate. What shame, what confusion, must have covered the face of 
Christ, when he was thus inconsiderately forced to retrace his steps and 
appear in the streets of Jerusalem in that disgraceful garment, and to ap- 
pear before Pilate in this humiliating attire. Pilate convinced of the in- 
nocence of Christ, called the high-priest, the Pharisees, and Scribes to- 
gether, and said to them : " You have presented this man to me, as one 
who perverts the people : I have examined him in your presence, and 
find no cause in the man in those things wherein you accuse him : no, nor 
has Herod, for I sent him to him, and behold, nothing worthy of death is 
done to him. I will chastise him, therefore, and release him." The 
furious Jews, gnashed their teeth, demanding his death. Now upon the 
solemn day of the Passover, the governor was accustomed to release a 
prisoner, whom they would, and he had a notorious prisoner, who was 
called Barabbas. They, therefore, being gathered together, Pilate said : 
Whom will you that I release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus that is called 
Christ ? for he knew that out of envy and malice they had delivered him up. 
O ! what horror overwhelms us to see the Most Holy One compared with- 
the leader of robbers and murderers. But terrible as it is, that is not all 



no Lenten Sermons. 

The chief-priests and the ancients persuaded the people that they should ask 
Barabbas, and make away with Jesus. The governor, answering, said to 
them : Which will you have of the two to be released unto you ? But 
they said : Barabbas. Pilate said to them : What shall I do with Jesus, 
that is called Christ ? They all said : Let him be crucified : The 
governor said to them : Why, what evil hath he done ? But they 
cried out the more, saying: Let him be crucified. And Pilate seeing 
that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, hav- 
ing taken water, washed his hands before the people, saying : I am in- 
nocent of the blood of this just man, look you to it. And all the people 
answering, said : His blood be upon us, and upon our children. Then 
he released to them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him 
to them to be crucified. 

You now perceive how far man can wander into devious paths when he 
takes passion along as his guide. It was envy that corroded the 
hearts of the Scribes and Pharisees, when they saw the favorable impres- 
sion made by the words and works of Jesus upon the people. They 
feared that by those words and works they would lose their coveted sway 
over them, and lose, too, some of the golden tribute which they paid. Envy 
and hatred made them petition for the life of Barabbas rather than that of 
our suffering Lord. Filled with the most intense hatred towards Christ, 
they began to caluminate him, and not content with this, they proceeded 
openly to persecute him. Closing their eyes against the light of truth 
which was confirmed by so many miracles, they were daring enough to 
resist Pilate who declared Christ innocent, and demanded the freedom of a 
murderer, that they might have the satisfaction of witnessing the murder of 
Christ. You shudder with indignation and cannot help execrating the in- 
justice and wickedness of these Jews, but my brethren, turn your anger 
against yourselves, for not once have you committed that glaring act of in- 
justice; O ! Christians, but over and over again. As often as you have 
committed a mortal sin, what else have you done than preferred Barabbas 
to Jesus ? How often have yon preferred a temporal advantage to him ? 
Behold the lesson which even the Jews can teach. The great aberration 
of which they made themselves guilty furnishes us with an opportunity of 
entering into ourselves and of considering how often we have renewed, by 
our sins, the injury, mockery, and unparalleled humiliation with which 
they insulted our Saviour but o?ice. O, the black ingratitude ! Let us learn 
to overcome our passions in the beginning; for if they are not eradicated in 
the very beginning, they will grow and acquire new strength every day, 
until they darken the understanding of man, and corrupt his heart and 
soul until he reaches the summit of wickedness and malice, and places the 
Lord of the universe far below the creation of his hands. And how is it 
possible that a Christian, after having seriously reflected on the outrages 



Lenten Sermons. hi 

and humiliations which the Son of God endured for us, should not be 
ashamed of his pride, ambition, and haughtiness. Jesus Christ who was 
the holy, the stainless one, upon whose lips was found no guile, is treated 
as a malefactor, whilst mortal man, who is so full of sins and imperfections, 
and whose crimes and iniquities are, we may say without any exaggeration, 
more numerous than the hairs of his head — mortal man would have every 
one to praise his conduct and seeks the honor and respect of his friends. 
He to whom the highest honor is due, is despised, and man who is nothing 
but a handful of dust and ashes, desires to be honored. Jesus Christ, the 
Judge of the living and the death, is set below a murderer, and weak, im- 
potent man desires to rule, and refuses to subject himself even to the au- 
thorities that are of God. 

Let us renounce those inordinate desires for honors, dignities, and pre- 
ferment. Let us be humble in spirit and understanding, and in heart and 
will, for humility is the road to heaven. Let us humble ourselves before 
God, before men and before ourselves, and on this way of humility, which 
Jesus pointed out to us by his holy example, we shall arrive one day 
at the house of our Father, wherein are many mansions, each one of which 
is an abode of perfect and perpetual bliss. 



SERMON IV. 



THE DENIAL OF PETER. 

'" Before the cock crow twice, thou shall deny me thrice." — Mark 14: 72. 

Who can comprehend the greatness of the sufferings into which our 
divine Lord was plunged, during that terrible night which preceded the 
most terrible day of his crucifixion ? What tortures had he not to endure 
before Annas, where he was abandoned to the ill-treatment of an obsequious 
servant, and where a troop of rude soldiers heaped the most insulting out- 
rages upon his head. And yet, all the insults which those base creatures 
flung at our Lord did not affect him so deeply as did the conduct of one 
of his Apostles — the prince — the chief amongst them all. The men who 
abused and insulted, Jesus knew him not, they were men of the lowest 
class, but Peter had accompanied him during the whole course of his 
ministry. Peter knew him; for, a short time before, he had made that 



1 1 2 Lenten Sermons. 

sublime profession of faith in his divinity: "Thou art Christ, the Son of 
the living God. " Considering these circumstances, I ask again: Which 
grieved our Saviour more, the blow, given him in the face by a hireling, 
or the deliberate denial of the first of his Apostles on entering the palace 
of the high-priest, at the question of a poor weak servant-maid: "Art thou 
not also one of his disciples ? " she asked. O, my brethren, though many 
hundred years have passed since the event transpired, the narration of St. 
Peter's defection sends a thrill of sorrow through every feeling heart, and, 
were it not that four Evangelists relate it, I could scarcely accord my belief 
to the tale. That Judas could betray his Master is more within the sphere 
of the possible; his thirst for money, the thefts he had committed, and the 
frequent and forcibly repeated warnings before his treason, without the 
slightest protest on the part of the traitor, except in the feeble words: 
" Lord, is it I ? " all this tells us, that Judas came slowly but deliberately, 
and with premeditation, to his terrible crime. It was not so with Peter. 
Two hours before his denial he was the most zealous defender of his Lord, 
and, on a sudden, he falls. And this fall of St. Peter is, on account of 
these circumstances, deserving of our serious reflection, for what happened 
to St. Peter, has happened already to thousands upon thousands, and may 
also happen to us. The sudden and deep fall of St. Peter, shall then be 
the subject of our meditation to-day. 

So far from having any idea of denying his Lord and Master, it is be- 
yond question that nothing was more remote from his mind. He went 
into the palace of the high-priest, not with the intention of denying, but, 
if necessary, to die with him, for he had said a few hours before : "I will 
follow thee, even unto death. " This, we may well believe, was his firm 
determination when the gate keeper refused to let him enter. He was 
most anxious to get inside, to watch his dear Lord, and to be there at the 
end. It is very probable that, while he was standing outside, he resolved, 
if he would be permitted to enter, to wait there for the end in the strictest 
incognito. He wished not to be known, and thought the less perplexity 
he would show the more easily he would succeed in remaining without 
difficulty to the end of the trial. Not the faintest shadow of a thought 
that he might possibly deny his Saviour arose within him. No matter what 
aspersions they might cast upon Jesus, he would not speak, so he said 
within himself; and surely his intentions were good. He resolved to con- 
ceal himself, as it were, amongst the crowd, that his presence might re- 
main unnoticed, and that he might not attract the attention of others to 
himself. Faithful to his plans, we see him sitting at the fire with the peo- 
ple, mingling among them as if he were one of them, and as if their com- 
pany were agreeable to him. Peter had formed his plans with the greatest 
confidence, and with the self-same confidence he endeavored to bring 
about their realization. But alas ! he suffered a most deplorable ship- 



Lenten Sermons. 115 

wreck. The good disciple had determined to wait quietly, and in strict 
silence for the end; but he forgot what would in all probability come to 
pass. They might speak to him, though he should not speak to them ; 
they might ask him questions, though he should not put one single ques- 
tion to any one of the crowd. Should he pass without being recognized 
or interrogated all would have been well. He wished it to be so, but the 
event proved far otherwise than he had hoped. By the intercession of 
John, Peter obtained permission to go into the palace of the high-priest. 
He had scarcely crossed the threshold, when a servant-maid said to him : 
"Art thou not also one of his disciples ? " This question struck him, but 
thinking not to exchange many words with the woman, he gave her a 
short answer, saying : "I am not." Inside the court, he thought, amidst 
such a vast throng, no one will molest me with questions, the gate-keeper 
must remain at her post, and all the people are not so inquisitive as this 
woman. Having answered her, "I am not," he hastened from her, and 
went to the fire to warm himself. Behold his first downward step, — he 
had denied Jesus by a lie. O, what mistaken kindness in John ! what a 
perilous favor did he not gain for his fellow-apostle, when, through his 
intercession, he obtained admittance for Peter ! Had he foreseen the con- 
sequences, he would surely have refused the request. When the woman 
thus confronted him, had he wished to rescue himself, he could have done 
so by returning instantly without making any answer. This question was 
a warning for him. He wished to be unknown, but on entering the hall 
he was to hear that he was known. I say, this was a warning that he 
would come into the temptation of denying the Lord, but Peter under- 
stood it not. His overweening confidence made him perfectly blind ; he 
denied his Lord at the first question, and, hoping this would be the last, 
he mingled with the crowd. And thus the first step was followed by 
another, and again another. In the whirl and confusion two hours flew 
swiftly by, yet in that little while Peter fell from lofty heights to the deep- 
est of depths. Alas ! he denied his Lord and Master ! Believing that 
naught could weaken his strength, he recklessly courts the danger — and 
falls. With the greatest self-confidence, and the sure hope that he could 
remain there unknown, he had crossed the threshold of the palace of the 
high-priest. No sooner was this accomplished, than the gate-keeper 
recognized him, and the question of the servant-maid embarrassed him. 
Vain all his hopes of remaining unknown and unnoticed ! O ! foolish 
apostle to think that such hopes could be realized ! Entirely confused, 
without one moment's thought on the words he would utter, he replied : 
' ' I am not. " Instead of evading the question of the gate-keeper and re- 
turning, he denied his Lord, whom he certainly loved more than his life. 
Having denied him, he turned, scarce knowing what he did, in the maze 
of confusion which enveloped him, and which he vainly attempted to 
conceal. He went to the fire and sat down. The strange, exciting trial 



ii4 Lenten Sermons. 

so engrossed the minds of those who were sitting by the fire, that they had 
no words for aught else, and some time elapsed before they took note of 
the unhappy apostle. But in a little while another maid-servant saw him, 
and having looked at him closely, she pointed at him with her finger, say- 
ing : "This man was also with him." When the gate-keeper, who had 
questioned him face to face, had annoyed him, we may easily imagine 
what confusion overspread his face when this woman drew a "sea of eyes " 
upon him, angry, inquisitive, threatening eyes. There he had been silently 
sitting at the fire, in order to remain unknown, and she pointed with her 
finger to him, saying : " This man was also with him." This unexpected 
occurrence made him lose all control over himself ; from silence he fell so 
far as to lie ; for, in presence of those who had heard the woman say : "This 
man was also with him, " he said in a loud voice: ' 'Woman, you are mistaken, 
I know him not." With this direct falsehood on his lips he hurriedly 
left, and presently the shrill crow of the cock rang out on the air. Peter 
did not hear it, however ; he was so confused that he seemed to be utterly 
oblivious of the enormity which characterized the sin he was committing. 
He left the place, after extricating himself from the difficulty by a lie, but 
he had scarcely gone forth when again the maid-servant said to the by- 
standers : ' ' This is one of them : " but he denied it again, and swore that 
he knew not the man. They molested him no longer, and seemed to be- 
lieve his oath. Who could credit the fact, that after the lapse of a whole 
hour, and after he had so directly attracted the attention of all towards 
himself that their glances seemed to burn into his very soul, we find Peter 
still lingering there ? Yes ! he was entangled in a maze of confusion, from 
which he could scarcely emerge ; he dared not stay, he feared to go ! He 
feared that his flight might be interpreted as cowardice, and that not only 
his connection with Jesus might be discovered, but also his faithlessness 
toward him ; he would not go away, hoping they would now leave him in 
peace. Peter permitted the time, in which he might have left a place 
which had proved so fatal to him, to pass ; he lingered there, and alas ! 
he fell into a still deeper abyss ! About the space of an hour afterwards, 
as St. Luke relates, a man said to Peter : "Surely this man was also with 
him, for he is also a Galilean ; his very speech betrays him. " 

The two maid-servants who had asserted, ' ' This also is one of them, " 
could advance nothing to substantiate their assertion, but here is one who 
is able to prove what he says. Peter, to demonstrate that he was entirely 
fearless in the matter, had, we may conclude, asked those who were sitting 
at the fire with him several questions during the hour, and thereby had 
betrayed his Galilean accent, which is broader and flatter than that of the 
other provinces of Judea. This naturally elicited the remark, "You may 
say what you please, you can never deny that you are a Galilean, for your 
very speech betrays you. " But Peter cursed, and swore that he knew not 



Lenten Sermons. 115 

the man of whom they were speaking. How, said another, can you deny 
it ? Yes, you are one of his disciples ; did I not see you in the garden 
with him ? The speaker was a kinsman of Malchus, whose ear Peter had 
cut off with his sword. There was an eye-witness standing before him, 
who named the place where he had seen him with Jesus, namely, the gar- 
den of Olives. Nothing was wanting to complete the measure, but to 
brand him as having contemplated the assassination of his kinsman. Who 
can conceive the anguish and perplexity of the faithless apostle, when 
they assailed him with proofs ? He knew not what to do to escape from 
the net in which he had ensnared himself ; he stood amid a throng, while 
from lip to lip passed the telling words : "Your very speech betrays you." 
Now he began to curse and to swear : I know not this man of whom you 
speak, I know not what you say ; and a second time came the warning 
crow of the cock. Thus a very brief space of time witnessed not only the 
first, but the second swift and deep fall of a disciple who had been the 
loudest in professions to Jesus. And perhaps he would have denied his 
Lord and Master oftener still, had not the scene between him and the 
crowd been brought to a close by Christ being led out of the house of 
Annas. All were too much engrossed to speak to Peter ; with one accord 
they all followed in the train, and so did he, but how did the unhappy 
apostle leave ? As a saint he had entered ; as a sinner he went out. The 
cock had not crowed twice before he had already thrice denied his Lord. 
How short the time which beheld the chief of the Apostles changed into a 
great sinner. The first step was to deny his Lord with a lie ; the second 
time, with an oath, and the third time, he employed even cursing and 
swearing to strengthen his word. From this sudden fall of St. Peter, the 
Prince of the Apostles, you see what can happen to man, even the 
best and holiest, in a short space of time. Who should not tremble? The 
downfall of Peter made even the Saints tremble. Who could rely on his 
own strength after this? Peter fell; he, who a few hours ago, had de- 
clared, in a solemn manner, that if all should be scandalized in him, he 
should never be scandalized in him. Now he is a reprobate ; three times 
he denied his Lord and Master. It needs but a moment, one little mo- 
ment, to transform a just man into a reprobate. If, relying on himself, 
and not supported by grace, he is left to his own weakness and to the 
powers of darkness, more swift than the lightning's flash will be his down- 
ward plunge. Yes, the powers of hell hold the proud man in thrall : this 
we see in the strange concatenation of circumstances which resulted in a 
tornado, and laid prostrate the stately oak. St. John, certainly with a good 
intention, had interceded for Peter, and obtained permission for him to 
enter the fatal house that caused his ruin. St. John stood under higher 
protection, because he was humble, but Peter was destitute of that pro- 
tection because of his overweening confidence in himself. The spirit of 
darkness embraced the opportunity to sift him as wheat ; at the very en- 



n6 Lenten Sermons. 

trance into the court, a maid-servant confused him, he denied his Lord ; 
he was scarce inside, when another woman looked at him and increased 
his confusion. He is now eager to leave, but on reaching the gate, the 
keeper said again : This is also one of them. This prevents him, he re- 
solves not to run off like a coward : he remains, he draws the attention of 
the crowd upon himself; one asks him this, another that question : they 
surround him, and prove that he is, indeed, a disciple of Christ. He de- 
nies it by cursing and swearing — thus falling again and again, and each 
time into a lower abyss. It is thus the devil knows how to lay snares, and 
to prepare one opportunity of sin after the other. Many wish to return 
after the first false step, but there is a difficulty, and that difficulty be- 
comes the opportunity of committing new sins. How true it is, that, if a 
man, after the first wrong step, does not return immediately, a second, and 
a third will follow in quick succession. Many a sinner would return, but 
he is held captive — a willing captive by sin ; he longs to go, and goes 
not ; he wishes to be constant, but alas ! is constant only in sin and dies 
given over to a reprobate sense. Many wish to repent after having re- 
peatedly denied the Lord, but what would the world say, what would the 
companions at the fire say, if they should renounce their evil ways and 
openly confess Christ ? The world would say : " You are also one of his 
disciples." These words confuse them, and they say: "I am not, I 
know not this man. " 

Learn from the history of Peter's downfall that, besides his presumptuous 
confidence, the house into which he went, added to his sudden and de- 
plorable fall. Peter wished not to be known as a disciple of Christ, he 
went into the midst of his enemies, hoping neither to be put to the neces- 
sity of confessing, nor the sin of denying him. But he soon experienced 
that from false shame and human respect, man easily adopts the maxims of 
those into whose society he is thrown. He that a few hours ago was with 
the Lamb, is now howling with the wolves, that he might remain unmo- 
lested, and not be overwhelmed with confusion in the face of that curious 
crowd. He denied Christ three times with cursing and swearing, so as not 
to displease his companions, whom he had met at the fire. O, how often 
is this repeated! How many go into societies and houses, the maxims of 
which they know to be dangerous to faith and morals. They go in, and 
while they do not think of confessing Christ, certainly nothing is more re- 
mote from their minds than to deny him, they only wish to see and to 
hear. They hope that no harm will result, Alas ! many thousands have 
already denied Christ in this way who now acknowledge him and tremble, 
but in hell. From fear and shame they adopted the maxims of man ; 
maxims which were at first utterly abhorent to their souls. He that a few 
hours ago confessed Jesus with his heart and mouth, tacitly listens to blas- 
phemies, then he makes another step and says: "I know not this man, 



Lenten Sermons. 



117 



I am not one of his disciples ; " at length, he blasphemes himself, and 
thus in a little while hell claims that wretched youth asits child. Of course 
his comrades will leave no effort untried for his ruin. The gate-keeper is 
there, he is the first that confuses and upbraids him for being so foolish as 
to be one of his disciples.* The name of that gate-keeper is vanity ; then 
comes another maid-servant whose glance at the face of the perplexed and 
embarassed man, confuses him still more, and this is concupiscence of 
the flesh, He will deny Jesus, not only once or twice, but numberless 
times, and the more abominable and infamous his denial is, the more his 
comrades will rejoice at it : the devil has made a new acquisition. In vain 
the cock will crow ; in vain, the voice of conscience will speak ; as Peter 
was deaf to its warning cry, so the deluded victim will not hear the cock's 
crow of his conscience, unless a look of Jesus, a saving ray of grace, 
fall into the heart and melt it into true sorrow for his sins. For this rea- 
son let us praise St. Peter, for having obtained that grace of repentance. 
This gracious look of Jesus, the bitter grief and life-long repentance of St. 
Peter after his fall, shall be the subject of our next meditation. 



SERMON V. 



THE REPENTANCE OF PETER. 

" And Peter went out, and wept bitterly" — Luke 22 : 62. 

The cock crows the second time, but Peter is too thoroughly engrossed in 
cursing and swearing and denying his persecuted Lord and Saviour. He 
is speaking to the men who surround him at the fire, endeavoring to de- 
fend himself against their accusations. St. Luke says: ''Whilst Peter 
was yet speaking, the cock crew. " From this it is manifest that the voice 
of conscience, alone, is not able to arouse man from the sleep of sin. When 
the darkness of midnight envelopes the world, as well as when the bright 
sun at noonday illumines it, the cock of conscience may crow, the sinner 
hears it not, and will not hear it. And when that cock can no longer crow, 
but only gasp and nutter in the clutch of death ; when the sinner tremb- 
ling at the thought of death, and writhing in his agony, collects in one great 
effort his last remaining powers, even then the crow of the cock of con- 
science falls on unheeding ears. Wonderful and terrible at the same time! 
The power of sin is appalling, it deprives man of reason and understand- 
ing, and renders him totally blind. But there is little cause for wonder that 



u8 Lenten Sermons. 

the sinner hears not the cock of his conscience, when he does not regard 
the appalling thunderbolts of the judgments of God. Noah was a hun- 
dred years in building the ark ; every stroke of the hammer was as so many 
crowings of the cock for that sinful generation, but of what use was the 
warning ? They continued their feasting and revelry until the deluge 
was upon them and the waters submerged them in its pitiless depths. And 
when Pharaoh heard the threatenings and saw the judgments of God which 
came upon him and the land of Egypt, did he heed the warning which 
each successive calamity so impressively uttered? Ah! no; he was hope- 
lessly deaf. Sin had deprived him of his senses. And, as it was in the 
time of Noah, so shall it be at the day of final doom, when in all his power 
and majesty, the Lord shall come to judge the living and the dead. Neither 
the voice of conscience, nor the sweet, inviting tones of prosperity, nor 
the crushing blows of adversity, are able of themselves to draw man out 
of his degradation, and rouse him from his legthargic slumber of sin, 
without the grace of God. Had not those merciful eyes looked graciously 
on Peter he would have been lost like Judas ; but it was this pleading look 
that raised him from his fall ; now, he remembered what his Lord had 
foretold him : "This night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny 
me thrice." He went out and wept bitterly. I have now arrived at the 
point which I intend to make the subject of our meditation to-day, 
namely : 

I. The gracious look of fesus, and 
II. The repentance of St. Peter. 

Peter is yet speaking, curses and blasphemies tremble on his lips, he 
wishes that all evil may come upon him if he knows the man who is with 
Annas in the palace; when behold, the doors fly open, and the Man 
whom Peter pretends not to know, enters the hall where Peter stands shrink- 
ingly at the fire, and this man is borne along by the crowd that surrounded the 
faithless apostle. The quarrel is at once ended, the eyes of all are turned to- 
wards Christ, and Peter likewise looks at the man, whom but a little while 
before he would not know. Jesus looks around in search of him, and 
having found him who had denied him, fixes his eyes upon him without 
speaking a word, but this one look was enough. Was it a look of destruc- 
tion ? Was it the look of a judge ? No, it was the look of a merciful 
Redeemer who was come, not to judge, but to seek and save that which was 
lost. The Lord looked at Peter but was silent, except for that eloquent 
glance which said : Peter, what hast thou done ? Where is thy faith, thy 
love, thy gratitude, thy word which thou hast pledged me ? My enemies 
torment my body, but thou, my friend, dost torment my soul. Return, trust 
in my goodness, all shall be forgiven. Who does not admire the uspeak- 
able mercy of the Good Shepherd ? Though maltreated, abused and in- 



Lenten Sermons. 119 

suited, disfigured and so prostrated that, for utter weariness, his failing 
strength could scarcely guide his faltering footsteps, he remembered his 
poor, weak apostle. Yes, when he might well have been wholly occupied 
with himself — with his own misery, he disregarded it all, and forgot self 
to seek the guilty disciple. Ah ! yes : faithless and treacherous, Peter now 
needs his aid more than ever. To snatch the stray sheep from despair and 
the jaws of the hellish wolf, he looks at him mercifully, and this look 
piercing Peter's heart, overwhelmed him with the bitterest shame. The 
hands of Jesus were bound, but his heart was ready to forgive, his eye 
ready to show mercy. He could only look at Peter, he could not go after 
the lost sheep, for his feet henceforth would go no more in the service of 
one, but for the salvation and redemption of all mankind. For this reason 
he sought the lost one with his eye, he pursued that erring soul with a 
look, to snatch it from the devil who had already seized hold of it as his 
prey. How consoling to us is this look of Jesus, which, with its stern re- 
proof of sin, mingles love and welcome for the penitent sinner. We, too, 
will find him a good shepherd, whose glance at all times regards the erring 
with tenderest compassion and love. His look meets us frequently im- 
mediately after the commission of sin, as it met the treacherous disciple 
immediately after his denial. How often have we offended the Lord and 
at the same moment in which we fear the avenging hand of divine justice, 
we are met by the mildly reproving, merciful look of our Saviour. Un- 
fortunate Christian ! Year after year rolls by, and each one, perhaps, 
finds you in thought, word, and deed, treading the path with those who 
deny our dear Lord. You wonder, yourself, that nothing terrible has 
overtaken you, that God has not punished you; you must confess that the 
mercy of God has most graciously spared you, but not so his justice; he 
calls you, he invites you to penance, he turns full upon you his eyes of 
mercy, he looks at you with pitying eyes. Oh ! that we all might avail 
ourselves of this merciful glance of the Redeemer, that we may not be an- 
nihilated one day by his look of wrath as a Judge. Let us cry out to him 
now: Look down upon me, O Lord, with eyes of mercy, as thou hast 
looked at Peter, that at the aspect of thy wrathful eyes, when thou shalt 
come as Judge, we may not be compelled to say: "Fall upon us ye 
mountains, and ye hiils cover us." Woe to us if the eyes of the world can 
make an impression us, and not the merciful eye of Jesus. O ! believe 
me, the day will dawn, and for many who now hear my words, its aurora 
has already appeared, when those eyes of men, whose look has power to 
turn your hearts from God, and whose scornful glances can lure your allegi- 
ance from him will be of no avail, when the inexorable look of Jesus will 
cast you to the grouud. Christ has looked down upon thousands already 
with eyes of mercy, but they were entirely fascinated with the world and its 
pleasures, they had no time to turn their eyes towards him, they were 
riveted upon the perishable goods of this world; the hour of death carne^ 



120 Lenten Sermons. 

they sought the merciful look of Jesus, but they could see nothing but the 
terrible eye of the Judge. They sought him too late: they sought him not 
whilst he could be found. Judas was one of these. When in the garden 
of Olives he approached his Lord to give him the treacherous kiss, Christ 
with eyes of mercy, looked at him, at the very time he was committing the 
greatest crime, but afterwards when bitter remorse took possession of him, 
he sought that merciful eye, but in vain — he despaired. Too long, too 
presumptiously had he trampled on the goodness of his God. Too delib- 
erately had he despised the gracious look of Jesus. With unprecedented 
coolness of mind, he had planned his treason; with fiendish malice and a 
boldness which, for audcaity was unequalled, he perpetrated it. The 
measure was full; he became a suicide. But it was not so with Peter. He 
also had been forewarned like Judas, but whilst Judas opposed to the 
warnings a malicious silence, and had even the assurance, though conscious 
of his guilt, to ask: Lord, is it I? Peter, in his love and enthusiasm for 
his Lord and Master, considered the caution superfluous, for he could not 
think it possible that he ever would be scandalized in him. " Lord, if all 
shall be scandalized in thee, I shall never be scandalized." And yet poor 
Peter was scandalized, thrice he fell, thrice he declared that he knew not his 
persecuted Lord ! His lips denied what his heart professed, he spoke in 
anguish and confusion, he wished to go away when confusion had forced 
from him the first denial; but it was far otherwise with the treacherous 
Judas. No one had asked him any questions; his being in the company 
of the high-priests was not accidental, no, he had sought them of his own 
accord, with the horrible intention of selling his Lord, he himself made 
this shameless offer: "What will you give me, and I will betray him." 
Judas was already a thief a year before the actual treason" took place. He 
fell slowly, with premeditation; Peter, suddenly, and without a moment's 
reflection on what he was saying. The sin into which Peter fell was cer- 
tainly great, he denied his Lord before servants who annoyed and besieged 
him with questions; but his sin was one of weakness, no malice intermingled 
therewith; he had not the boldness to say: When that man comes out, I 
shall stand before him face to face, and prove to you that I know him not. 
Judas, however, did so, and his sin was so grievous that the measure was 
full. Whilst committing the sin of treason, he received the last grace, for 
Christ said: Friend, why art thou come hither ? He could have returned 
then, but he did not; he kissed his Lord and the time of grace was over; 
he went out and hanged himself. For this reason Christ said: "It were 
better for him had he never been born." Peter also went out after denying 
Jesus, but how ? Not like Judas, whose remorse drove him to despair, 
but he went out and wept bitterly. 

II. Peter observing the look of Jesus remembered the words: "This night 
before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice." And he went out 



Lenten Sermons. . 121 

and wept bitterly. This gracious look of Jesus had the desired effect, 
because Peter co-operated with the grace extended to him. We cannot 
form even a faint idea of Peter's feelings when he remembered his promise: 
"If all shall be scandalized in thee, I shall never be scandalized, " and how 
did not his former profession, "Thou art Christ the Son of the Living 
God: to whom shall we go: Thou hast the words of eternal life," appear, 
compared to his last expression: "I know not that man, I know not what 
you are saying." And, as to the sorrow which wrung his inmost heart at 
his denial of Jesus, we can not even imagine its extent. The Sacred 
Scripture relates the repentance of Peter in these few words: he went out 
and wept bitterly. But we are not to understand that his weeping, sorrow 
and grief were confined to that moment: no, his fall was ever afterwards a 
source of the deepest grief, each successive day was a renewal of the last, 
and until the hour of his death his sin never failed to bring to his eyes 
penitential tears. Until God called him from earth he never heard a cock 
crow without weeping bitterly at the remembrance of his sin. The Holy 
Fathers relate that when preaching the Gospel, he frequently mentioned his 
own fall, and expressly desired St. Mark to give a description of his denial. 
He wished thus to humble himself and to do penance. The fall of this 
great Apostle awoke within him so watchful a spirit that his life was marked 
with an unwavering faithfulness, which he finally sealed with his blood. 
God deigned to look with such benignity on his repentance that Christ 
being risen from the dead, he appeared first to St. Peter, before he mani- 
fested himself to any other of his disciples. Poor Peter ! How must he 
have trembled, what shame and confusion must have rushed over his 
soul when he beheld Jesus whom three days before he had so persistently 
denied ! We do not read, however, that Jesus reproached him, no, he 
only appeared to him in order to sustain and comfort him, for he knew 
well that the poor Apostle needed some solacing words. We wonder when 
we read that he appeared first to St. Peter, and that the angel at the 
sepulchre told the women, ' ' You seek Jesus of Nazareth, he is risen, he 
is not here, go and tell his disciples, and Peter, that he goes before you 
into Galilee, there you shall see him as he told you." But it admits of a 
ready solution: Peter denied Christ three times, therefore he might have 
■considered himself unworthy of the apostleship and might have re- 
frained from going to the sepulchre with the other Apostles, if he had 
not been specially named. The Lord prayed for Peter: he was confirmed: 
and he strengthened his brethren, for he gave testimony of Christ before 
the high council of Jerusalem: "God is to be obeyed before man." 

Let it be our aim to imitate Peter in his repentance, since we have followed 
him in sin. But let us never forget that we cannot repent without the 
grace of God, for grace is the beginning of our conversion. We may 
resist this grace, we may regard it with an indifferent heart: the grace of 



122 Lenten Sermons. 

God does not force us to be good, we have our own free will; we must co- 
operate with the grace of God which is never wanting to us. We must 
look at Jesus when he looks at us; we must go out like Peter and 
weep tears of sorrow and penitent love. If our hand or foot scandalize 
us we must cut it off and cast it from us, for it is better for us with 
one foot or one hand to enter into life, than, having two hands or two 
feet to be cast into hell-fire, and if the eye scandalize us, we must 
pluck it out and cast it from us, for it is better for us having one eye 
to enter into life, than, having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire : this alone 
is true Gospel repentance. Peter went out and wept bitterly. Oh ! let us 
weep for our sins, we have often wept for our passions, for the world, and 
the things of this world ; but alas ! we have no tears for our God, though 
they readily flow for everything else. O ! folly, nay worse than folly. 
Glance over the world and consider the many trials to be found therein. 
'They naturally cause tears, but they are neither so just, nor of such avail, 
nor so essential as the tears which should be shed for our sins. Christ 
shed his blood for us, and we, ungrateful beings that we are, will not shed 
a single tear for him who suffered and died for us. What can we look 
upon that does not revive the remembrance of our sins ? Can we contem- 
plate the beauty of the skies, and gaze in spirit beyond to the City of God 
without weeping at the sight of that glorious kingdom which we so basely 
renounced ? Can we enjoy the light, and not bewail the dark spiritual 
night in which we remain ? Can we observe the regular movement of the 
stars, and the obedience of all creatures to their Creator's laws, and not 
shed bitter tears that we so often rebel against God ? He that weeps for 
his sins cannot be lost ; the Good Shepherd will find him and bear him, 
rejoicing, again to the flock. The Angels in heaven were jubilant at the 
repentance of Peter when he went out and wept bitterly. O let your tears 
flow, weep for your sins, you have reason to weep, for you have denied 
Jesus more frequently than Peter. Oh ! happy tears which dare not ask 
pardon, but nevertheless obtain it. And we who have followed Peter in 
his denial of Christ, O ! let us resolve, like him, to atone for our sins ; 
the Angels will be glad at our repentance. And if our penance be perse- 
vering to the end, if we be faithful followers of Jesus on earth, our pen- 
ance will be rewarded with an immortal crown of glory in heaven. 



Lenten Sermons. 123 



SERMON VI 



THE SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR, THE CROWNING WITH THORNS, AND THE 
CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST. 

''They have dug my hands and feet, they have numbered all my bones." — 

Ps. 21 : If. 

We have, in a previous lecture, meditated on the interior anguish which 
our divine Saviour endured ; to-day we will let his corporal sufferings form 
the subject of our pious reflection. That we may obtain an adequate idea 
of the multitude and severity of his pains, let us consider for our edifica- 
tion the cruel scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, and his 
crucifixion. Is there, amongst those who hear my words, one whose heart 
will not be moved at the consideration of sorrows so stupendous ? Is 
there one who, after reflecting that the Son of God suffered so much in 
his body in order to redeem and save us from sin and hell, will not feel 
himself strengthened and encouraged to suffer patiently that which God 
sends in his way, and to do some penance for his sins ? When Pilate, 
hearing the cries of an angry populace which clamored for the release of 
Barabbas and the condemnation of Jesus, could not resolve to doom an 
innocent man to death, he endeavored to extricate himself from the diffi- 
culty in another way. Although a heathen he understood very well that 
to condemn an innocent man is to act contrary to the light of reason, the 
laws of justice, and the dictates of conscience. He endeavored to release 
Christ. Hoping that the satanical rage of the furious mob would be soft- 
ened were he to afford them some satisfaction, he commanded the soldiers 
to scourge him. The Evangelists pass over the special details of this 
scourging, saying nothing but that Jesus was scourged. 

We may well imagine, however, that this unjust order was executed with 
the greatest possible cruelty; for when a common soldier dared to strike him 
before the eyes of the high-priest who had asked concerning his doctrine and 
his disciples, and when the guards that watched him in the house of Caiphas 
presumed to treat him most cruelly, we may also conceive in what man- 
ner they gave vent to their rage, after they had obtained orders from the 
governor to scourge him. Have you ever observed how dogs act when 
the prey is held back for awhile ? They make a thousand attempts to 
seize the victim, and when the hunter yields the poor creature to their fury 



124 Lenten Sermons. 

they rush upon the prey with haste and rage, stupefy it by their wild howl- 
ing, force their sharp teeth into its flesh, and thus, inch by inch, slowly 
put it to death. Christ compared his enemies to a set of savage and 
blood-thirsty dogs, when he said by the mouth of the royal prophet that 
many dogs had encompassed him.— Ps. 21. As long as they were held re- 
strained by the governor, and could not give full vent to their rage, they 
barked at him, ridiculed and mocked him, but after Pilate had sentenced 
him to be scourged they had no mercy, no compassion for him. They 
seized him, rudely tore off his clothing, bound him fast to a pillar, and 
tortured his sacred flesh with an almost incalculable number of strokes. 
By this stripes were formed which burst open, and the blood flowed from 
all parts of his body, without exciting the least feeling of compassion in 
the hearts of those monsters. Some writers hesitate not to say that three 
sets of executioners performed the cruel task. The first had knotty rods, 
the second, thick ropes, and the third, iron chains. The number of strokes 
was also not limited to forty, the usual number prescribed by law of 
Moses. To conceive some idea of the pains which Christ endured, when 
he was scourged, it suffices to take into consideration the natural barbarity 
of the soldiers, the delicate sensibility of the tender body of Christ, and 
the multitude and heaviness of the strokes. The heartless executioners 
found it a welcome task to maltreat those who were sentenced to death 
and to spill their blood. What recked they if their victims quivered be- 
neath the lash ! What heavy strokes, then, must they have heaped upon 
him, when there was a rivalry among them to please the Scribes and 
Pharisees, by whom they had probably been bribed. Jesus was of the 
most sensitive constitution, his body was the most perfect of all that were 
ever produced, being formed from the pure blood of Mary by the agency 
of the Holy Ghost. How agonizing must have been to Christ a punish- 
ment which even forced bitter tears from the eyes of slaves. And, 
as the punishment was to correspond to the guilt, according to what is 
written in Deuteronomy, chap. 25, "the number of strokes shall be ac- 
cording to the measure of sins," we must suppose that the sufferings which 
Christ endured in that scourging attained the highest degree, because the 
sins for which he rendered satisfaction to the divine Majesty were as great 
as they were numerous. The prophet Isaias compares him to a leper, and 
presents him to us so disfigured by strokes, that he was not like another 
man, and says that he was lacerated on account of our sins, wherefore, he 
calls himself the Man of Sorrows. He bore all this base treatment with 
indescribable patience ; his mouth remained closed but he said in his 
heart: "I am ready for scourges." — Ps. 37. He was weary, well nigh 
unto death, almost prostrated by those heavy strokes, but at the same time 
he thought of us. He prayed for us to his Eternal Father ; he offered for 
us, and for all sinful men, those merciless strokes as an expiation. For 
love of you, dear souls, thus thought our dear Saviour : It is for love of all 



Lenten Sermons. 125 

souls that my hands are tied, my shoulders stricken without mercy, and my 
whole body one mass of bleeding wounds. I am suffering the most ex- 
cruciating pains and torments, in order that you, seeing what I endure for 
you, may make the resolution to correspond to my love ! Oh ! my breth- 
ren ! how much do we not owe to our divine Redeemer ! He has done 
penance for our sins, and submitted to the punishment which should have 
fallen upon us. We are the criminals, and it is we who should have 
writhed under the terrible pain of the lash, but Christ bent his own shoul- 
ders to the blows that we might be free from the punishment which the 
divine justice had decreed against us. Who could be so callous 
as not to weep bitter tears of compassion, and to feel his heart 
almost breaking with love and gratitude at the pitiful sight of that disfig- 
ured countenance, that lacerated form, that innocent lamb covered with 
wounds, and blood streaming unheeded to the ground. But alas ! how 
many there are among us who remain indifferent, hard and ungrateful ! 
Though we know that our God has deigned to do such great penance for 
us, our hearts are so little moved, that we even dare to continue our 
wicked life, and commit the same sins almost daily. O ! God grant that 
none of us may ever cause such sorrow to our amiable Redeemer, but 
that the sight of his scourged body, may implant in each heart the senti- 
ments of King David : It is I that have sinned. — II. Kings, ch. 24. I 
have sinned by calumniating my neighbor ; I have sinned by persecuting 
and hating those who offend me ; I have sinned by intemperance and by 
blindly following my predominant passions ; I am, therefore, to be pun- 
ished. O ! that each and every one of us, animated by the example of 
Christ, would begin to do penance for his sins, instead of enjoying the 
pleasures and amusements of this world ! Let us pursue the history of 
the Passion of Christ, and each page will produce new and stronger 
proofs of our ingratitude and delinquencies. 

After the executioners were wearied of scourging him, they loosed him from 
the pillar, and though the long and severe chastisement had almost exhausted 
his small remnant of strength, no one could be found to do him a favor, as 
was usual on such occasions ; no one to dress his wounds or hold a cooling 
draught to his fevered lips. He complained thereof himself by the prophet 
Isaias : "I looked about and there was none to help, I sought and there 
was none to give aid." Ah? had their rage only been soothed by this 
scourging ! but the pitiful state in which they beheld him inflamed, in- 
stead of softening their hatred, as Pilate vainly hoped. The sight of the 
innocent blood which should have awakened feelings of compassion, only in- 
creased their rage to maltreat and abuse him still more. It occurred to 
their minds that he had aspired to royal dignity, because he had said be- 
fore Pilate; that he was King of the Jews. They accordingly invented 
a new kind of torture. After conducting him into the hall of the court, 



126 Lenten Sermons. 

they gathered together unto him the whole band, and having violently torn 
off his clothing, they put a scarlet cloak about him, and platting a crown 
of thorns they put it upon his head, and a reed into his right hand, and 
bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying : " Hail ! King of 
the Jews/' And not content with having treated him with such con- 
tumely, they united cruelty with mockery, pressing the crown of thorns 
more deeply into his head, and thus making him the man of sorrows. I 
leave you to judge what great pains Christ must have endured, when the 
thorns pierced his adorable head, the most sensitive part of his body. 
Every thorn left a wound ; some pierced his veins, whence the blood ran 
down his forehead and disfigured his countenance ; others penetrated his 
nerves and caused the most violent convulsions. A slight headache often 
appears to us intolerable ; what great anguish must our Redeemer have en- 
dured from so many thorns ! If a single thorn in the hand or foot hurts 
us, what violent pains must not so many sharp thorns have caused ? And 
those heartless, cruel men could find it in their hearts to mock the Saviour 
while in that pitiable state : " Hail ! " said they, bending their knees in 
derision : "Hail ! King of the Jews," and spitting upon him they took 
the reed out of his hand and struck his head so that the pains were renewed 
and the thorns thrust in still deeper with every stroke. When those wicked 
men had gratified their savage insolence, they presented him before Pilate, 
who beholding his sad condition, was moved to compassion, and bringing 
him forth from the palace, showed him to the assembled populace, say- 
ing : "Ecce homo " — " Behold the man," as if he would say, behold the 
the miserable state to which your cruelty has reduced him ; behold a 
being who has the same nature as yourselves ; behold how his face is 
swollen, his head pierced with thorns, and how the blood flows down from 
his forehead ! He is not like to another man, let this suffice now, do not 
demand his death. The imprudent judge hoped to release Christ, but he 
was greatly deceived, for his language served only to heighten the fury and 
rage of the excited populace. The Scribes and Pharisees cried out : 
Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate said they might crucify him if they 
wished, but that he would not condemn a man to death, in whom he 
could find no cause. The Jews answered : We have a law, and accord- 
ing to that law, he ought to die, because he called himself the Son of God. 
When Pilate heard this he feared the more. He entered into the hall again, 
saying to Christ : Whence art thou ? But he gave him no answer. Pilate, 
therefore, said to him : Speakest thou not to me ? knowest thou not that 
I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release thee. Jesus an- 
swered : Thou wouldst not have power against me, unless it was given 
thee from above. He, therefore, who has delivered me to thee has the 
greater sin. From henceforth Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews 
cried out, saying : If thou release this man thou art not Caesar's friend ; 
for whomsoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar. When 



Lenten Sermons. 127 

Pilate had heard this he feared for the friendship of Caesar, his self-love and 
human respect conquered his better nature, and he yielded to their demands. 
Fearing to lose the favor of his earthly master, he sacrificed the precious life of 
God-man. Woe to the man who suffers himself to be governed by passion. 
He is capable of doing anything. Avarice that ruled Judas, enticed him to sell 
his Master ; envy and hatred that had taken possession of the hearts of the 
high-priest and the Pharisees made them petition for the death of Christ. 
Self-love, human fear, and worldly advantage were the predominant pas- 
sions in the heart of Pilate, that urged him to pronounce sentence against 
Christ. These examples should teach us how necessary it is to eradicate 
passions in time, lest we should, if they acquire too much strength, be 
plunged into a thousand difficulties. 

III. After the governor had pronounced the unjust sentence, the savages 
conducted Christ, without any further delay, to Mount Calvary, and eager 
to render his passage to the mount a ' ' dolorous way " in every sense 
of the term, they compelled him to carry the cross on his own shoulders. 
Then it was fulfilled, what so many centuries before had been prefigured 
in the person of the innocent Isaac, who carried the wood for the holo- 
caust, and in the ram, which, laden with all the sins and iniquities of the 
people, the high-priest sent into the wilderness. O! Christians! has earth 
ever witnessed a spectacle more fitted to excite compassion than that of 
the Son of God in the midst of a troop of rough and savage soldiers, go- 
ing between two malefactors who were sentenced to death with him, and 
carrying the instrument of his death on his own shoulders ! Weakened by 
the cruel treatment he had received, his head crowned with thorns, his 
whole body full of wounds caused by the scourging at the pillar ; he 
walked, sighing under the heavy load of the cross, and overcome by the 
pains he endured ; cold sweat ran down his face ; he could endure it no 
longer, but fell with his face to the earth. When the women of Jeru- 
salem, who followed him, saw this they wept over him. But, turning to 
them, he said : Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me, but weep for 
yourselves and your children. The soldiers, fearing that he would die un- 
der the weight of the cross, took it from him, and compelled a man from Cy- 
rene, named Simon, to carry it. When they had come to the place that is called 
Calvary, they stripped him, and told him to stretch himself on the cross. 
Christ considered it as the altar, on which he was going to offer to God 
the most perfect and acceptable sacrifice that had ever been offered to him. 
He laid himself upon it, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he adored 
the will of his Eternal Father, becoming obedient unto death, even unto 
the death of the cross. And offering himself as an expiation for our 
sins, he voluntarily laid his holy, innocent, and undefiled body upon the 
hard wood, saying: Sacrifices, oblations, and holocausts thou wouldst not, 
.neither are they pleasing to thee, which are offered to thee, according to 



128 Lenten Sermons. 

the law ; behold, I come to do thy will, O God. — Heb. 10: 8, 9. Im- 
mediately they perforated his hands and feet with large nails, and by the re- 
peated strokes of a heavy hammer nailed him to the cross. The painful 
convulsions which this cruel treatment producd in all parts of his body 
plunged him into a sea of sorrows, and thus was fulfilled what had been 
foretold by the royal prophet of the Redeemer : "They have dug my 
hands and feet, they have numbered all my bones. " — Ps. 21: 17. 

The pain which thrilled through every nerve of our Saviour whilst this 
cruel torture was in progress may be better imagined than described. 
Present, however, to your mind a man sick of the palsy. Such intense 
anguish racks his frame that his moans are the wails of one on the point of 
despair. And yet all that love can do is done in his behalf. His limbs 
take what repose they can, upon a soft easy bed, and his only pains are 
those caused by a few drops of biting substance which seize the nerves in 
the joints of the hands and feet with its itching parts. Now reflect what 
excessive pains Jesus must have endured. He was lying on the hard bed 
of the cross, whilst not only a few drops of a biting substance touched his 
nerves, but large rough nails were driven through his hands and feet. They 
thrust the sinews asunder, dislocated the small joints, and injured his 
nerves, of which the tenderest parts of the body are formed and composed. 
And how fearfully were not these pains aggravated, when the soldiers lifted 
up the cross on which he was nailed, and planted it in the hole already 
prepared for it, thus presenting to the vulgar gaze of the mob our dear 
Saviour and Lord. O ! God, what pain to sustain the whole weight of the 
body by the hands that were pierced through by nails ! What agony to 
hang upon that instrument of death in a way, which allowed not the 
faintest hope that the torment would cease. What dislocation of the 
bones, what extension of the wounds, what great convulsions. When he 
wished to rest his head, his only pillow was the hard rough wood of the 
cross, which increased his pains, because the thorns were hereby pressed 
in the deeper. When he wished to support the weight of his body on his 
hands, the wounds were distended aud the pain became more violent; 
and when he wished to rest his hands, his feet were obliged to bear the 
whole weight of his body, and thus the pains grew more intense from 
moment to moment, and became almost unendurable, and yet he lived in 
this state whilst three long hours dragged their slow length along. Let us 
pause a moment, and at the foot of the cross of our Redeemer, ask our- 
selves how many drops of that precious blood we have forced from his 
body by our sins. Yes, my brethren, it was my sins, it was your sins, that 
made him fall under the weight of the cross, and that nailed him to it. 
Our sins were the thorns and nails that caused him unspeakable pains. 
We read in the book of Josue that when the wretched Achan was condemned 
to death, nine hundred thousand persons were engaged in executing the 



Lenten Sermons. 129 

sentence, and of all that vast multitude there was not one woman 
or child that did not go in turn, to cast stones at that miserable being, and 
with every one thrown they hurled a curse at his head. It was not only 
nine hundred thousand persons, but the whole of Adam's posterity that 
overwhelmed Jesus with curses and insults, and we, we also, wretched 
beings, that we are, have nailed Jesus Christ to the cross, and have, if I 
may so express it, inflicted on him as many mortal blows, as we have com- 
mitted sins during our life-time. Oh ? that never again might our offenses 
force blood from the veins of our Lord! But we continue ever to renew 
and increase this suffering by our sins. Yes, sinners, you renew, as far as 
it is in your power, the grief and anguish of your compassionate Saviour, 
by the malice of the numberless sins which you daily commit. Oh ! the 
blindness and ingratitude of man ! Where is our compassion ? Has every 
feeling of humanity forsaken our hearts ? We shed tears at the sight of the 
miseries of our fellow-men, and we make every effort to alleviate their 
sufferings; but when we see our divine Saviour crowned with thorns, falling 
under the cross, and crucified, where is our compassion ? Judge now 
whether his sufferings can be compared to the sufferings of another. From 
this you will also recognize the fatal delusion of those who flatter them- 
selves that the pathway to heaven is bordered with roses, or that they can 
reach its portals save by treading on thorns. Penance alone can win eternal 
life, Jesus Christ has shown us this by walking first in the way of the cross. 

We are called to sufferings and trials, says St. Peter, because Christ also 
suffered for us, leaving us arv example that we might imitate it. He is the 
model of all that are predestined, says St. Paul, and according to his life 
and virtues we must regulate our life. If the Father find in us no re- 
semblance to his crucified Son, he will not admit us into the number of the 
blessed, for he will not acknowledge as children of election those who are 
not in some respects like his Son. — He will make partakers of his glory, 
only those who are formed according to the head of all the elect, for the 
disciple is no better than his master, and the servant cannot have a prefer- 
ence before his Lord. Does our life correspond to the life of Christ cruci- 
fied? The life of Christ was one continued series of sufferings; the life of 
the generality of Christians is only a series of distractions and amusements. 
The innocent flesh of Christ was pierced by thorns, perforated by nails, 
but the criminal flesh of many Christians will relish nothing but pleasures, 
and will not endure the most trifling mortification. Undeceive yourselves 
for once. A life of excessive fondness for pleasures and amusements is not 
the proper life of a Christian. Read the Gospel, and then tell me, do you 
find anything else preached and inculcated in it, than self-denial, mortifica- 
tion, works of penance, and conforming ourselves to the will of God ? If 
any man will come after me, says Jesus, let him deny himself, take up his 
cross dailv, and follow me. If any man come to me, and not hate his 



130 Lenten Sermons. 

father and mother, his wife and children, his brethren and sisters, yea, and 
his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Consider Jesus, in any condition 
of life you will, did he ever allow himself the slightest deviation from this 
rule? Poverty, nakedness, hunger, persecution, sorrows and desolation 
marked every hour of his life upon earth. Look at Christ crucified. Could 
he suffer anything more painful ? Christ has suffered, so must we, if we 
wish to be counted among his followers, for those are Christ's, who have 
crucified their flesh with their vices and concupiscences. 

Let us, at the foot of the cross, make the promise to our crucified 
Redeemer, to offend him no more, and to amend our lives. He suffered 
so much for us, let us imitate his example, and bear with patience and 
resignation to the will of God whatsoever afflictions he may send us, since 
it is for our good. The example of Jesus will console us in the troubles 
and difficulties of this life, it will comfort us in the hour of trial, and will 
make penance sweet and light. 



SERMON VII. 



THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS. 

" He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. — Matt. 11 : 15. 

We are assembled to-day, to hear repeated the oft-repeated narrative of 
the Passion and death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Redeemer of 
the world. Kepresent to yourselves our Redeemer hanging on the cross, 
manifesting his ineffable love for mankind to the last moment of his exist- 
ence. Great are the pains he suffers, yet he murmurs not against his Father 
in heaven, nor does he pronounce judgment on his murderers on earth. 
When he stood before Pilate, he opened not his mouth, and now, like a 
lamb in the hands of those who wait to slay it, he utters not a word on the 
cross. But as a tender father, about to depart this life, seeing his children 
gathered around his death-bed, opens his eyes again and whispers his last 
parting words, so our blessed Lord opens his eyes, his pallid lips part and 
his last precious words are given to mankind. We generally try to catch with 
the greatest eagerness the words of a dying friend, and a word coming from 
the pale lips of a father or mother makes such a deep and lasting impres- 
sion upon even thoughtless and frivolous children, that you can hear them 



Lenten Sermons. 131 

say, long after their parent's death: My dying father, or, my dying mother, 
told me this or that on their death-bed. I shall never forget it. But is 
not our dying Redeemer more to us than father or mother ? To them we 
owe our corporal life, but to him, our spiritual life. Nothing, therefore, 
should excite within our hearts more ardent love and veneration than his 
last words. There is something so holy and majestic in them, that our 
whole being is thereby stirred to its very depths. Let us then listen to the 
last words of our Saviour and "he that hath ears to hear, let him hear." 

1. We cannot look at the Redeemer hanging on the cross without rev- 
erence and awe, for there never was such a master of virtue, such an 
unerring leader to heaven, such a man mighty in word and deed, before 
God and men; Ah! we will never, again, behold such perfection on earth! 
Was this acknowledged when he was hanging on the cross ? No, he was 
treated with the utmost contempt. The people shook their heads and said 
to him : " Vah, thou who destroyest the temple of God and in three days 
buildest it up again, save thyself ; if thou be the Son of God, come down 
from the cross. He saved others, himself he cannot save.'' If he be the 
king of Israel, let him come down from the cross and we will believe in 
him. He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will have him, 
for he said : I am the Son of God, Even one of the Roman soldiers 
mocked him, saying : If thou be the king and Saviour of Israel, save thy- 
self; and to complete the measure, one of the thieves who were crucified 
with him, said blasphemingly : "If thou be Christ save thyself and us." 
We must confess that the Redeemer could not be treated with greater con- 
tempt, nor orTended and insulted in a more insolent manner. And what is 
his conduct under such humiliations ? He looks down from the cross with 
eyes of mercy and compassion upon his enemies. He looks into the dark 
future where all the evils that will fall upon them are vividly before his eyes. 
These evils grieve him more than all his sufferings ; and he gathers his re- 
maining strength and prays to his father — •' he that hath ears to hear, let 
him hear " — he prays for his enemies. 

" Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." His doctrine 
was : Love your enemies, do good to those that hate you, pray for those 
who persecute and calumniate you, that you may be children of your Father 
who is in heaven. Here we see him put his doctrine into practice, and seal 
it with his own example. His enemies reviled him, and only blessings are 
heard from his lips ; they hate and persecute him, and he strews benefits 
untold in their path. Whilst they rage with the utmost fury, he prays : 
Father, forgive them ; he even excuses their blind zeal : "for they know 
not what they do. " O ! the burning disgrace for us, if the example of 
Christ does not so touch our hearts that we will most readily pardon our 
enemies. You bear, perhaps, for years, hatred in your hearts, and your 
self-love is ingenious enough to exculpate you by many shallow excuses. 



132 Lenten Sermons. 

You say : he has grievously offended me, therefore, it is impossible to for- 
give. Are you more innocent than Jesus, who challenged his enemies to 
convince him of sin, which they could not ? If the most innocent and 
holy One can pardon his enemies, why will you not forgive yours ? Ex- 
amine your conscience ; ask yourself impartially : Do I entertain hatred 
against any one of my fellow-men ? If its unerring verdict answers yes, lull 
it not to sleep by vain excuses, for this very night God may call you before 
his tribunal, and would you not shrink from appearing before him with 
hatred in your heart against your neighbor? He is love itself, and has for- 
given a world of enemies. You do not know at what time God will call 
you. You have time for reconciliation, perhaps this year, perhaps this 
month, perhaps only this day ; for you are like flowers which bloom in the 
morning but wither and decay at eve. Therefore, forgive now, and go 
not from the cross of your merciful Redeemer, before you have, like him, 
forgiven all your enemies from your heart. 

2. When the Saviour was conducted to the place of execution, his dis- 
ciples fled, overwhelmed with apprehension for their own safety, and their 
courage vanished before the perilous journey to the Mount. Yet, there 
was one who, in the face of every danger, had followed his Lord into the 
palace of the high-priest, and whom nothing could deter from accompany- 
ing him to the scene of his death. He placed himself near the cross so as 
not to lose the last breath from his beloved Master's quivering lips. This 
intrepid and fearless disciple was the faithful, noble-hearted John. Mary, 
the Mother of Jesus stood near him. While Mary and John, plunged in the 
deepest grief, look up to the cross they meet those dear eyes, over which the 
film of death is beginning to steal. They brighten like the departing day 
in the western horizon; for these are the Saviour's truly beloved friends 
whom he cannot forget even in the agony of death. He was fully aware, 
how deeply sorrow and grief, like a two-edged sword, was piercing his 
mother's heart ; he knew what she was suffering ; her heart was broken and 
in his last hour he provided for her, at the same time consoling and blessing 
his beloved disciple. Opening his mouth, he publishes his last will and 
testament ; he speaks only a few words ; he will not increase the grief of 
his dear ones by a long farewell. Only a few holy words, which I will re- 
peat, "he that hath ears to hear, let him hear," he says with a dying 
voice : " Woman, behold thy son." Whilst saying this he looked at John, 
who was to be the friend and protector of his sorrowing mother. And 
again he says : ' ' Son, behold thy mother, " pointing with his eyes to Mary. 
By this he called upon John to interest himself in behalf of his poor 
mother ; to console and comfort her, to assist her in every necessity, to 
be to her for the remainder of her life, what he himself had been to her. 
St. John provided for her as if she were his own mother until her assump- 
tion into heaven. 



Lenten Sermons. 133 

Children, engrave deeply on your minds what Christ did for his mother. 
As, during life, he recompensed her tender love by the greatest gratitude, 
so he remained a good son to the very last moment of his life. In like 
manner, do not forget the obligations you are under to your parents. 
Children, look back. From whom have you your being ? Whose bread 
did you eat ? What would have become of you, if your parents had not 
taken so great care of you ? Children, look back. You were help- 
less, insensible, imprudent, thoughtless, like all children. Who watched 
over you with careful anxiety ? You were exposed to a thousand dangers 
which threatened to destroy sometimes your health, sometimes your life ; 
who watched over you, who protected you, who prayed to God for your 
temporal and spiritual welfare ? Children, look back. You were ignorant, 
you knew neither God nor you destiny ; who taught you to make the sign 
of the cross, who made you acquainted with the life and sufferings of 
Christ, who taught you to bend your knees, to lift up your hands and pray 
to God ? In later years, when wicked inclinations crept into your hearts, 
who first observed them, who restrained them, who wept over them, who 
kept you from doing wrong? Was it not your parents? And in your 
sickness, who watched by your side during sleepless nights? Did not your 
parents do all this ? And can you be so cruel as to be angry at the weak- 
ness and frailty of their age ? Can you treat them rudely and unkindly 
when they require your assistance? Can you have the hardness of heart to 
embitter their old age, which is undoubtedly bitter enough, and to draw 
tears from the very eyes which wept so often for you ? If you can do this, 
then you, once good children, smiling in loving glee upon your parents, 
have become ingratitude itself, and I should certainly pronounce it un- 
paralleled audacity in you, to place yourselves to-day with the Blessed 
Virgin and St. John at the cross of the Redeemer, who loved his mother 
so dearly, that she was the object of his care and solicitude to the last. 
Our dying Redeemer provided for his mother, that after his death she might 
not suffer want, and can you, in the possession of temporal goods, see 
your parents suffer hunger? You eat and drink and enjoy yourselves, 
whilst the authors of your existence want for even a morsel of bread to ap- 
pease their hunger. Children, by such conduct you commit an unnatural 
crime, which your Father in Heaven will not allow to pass with impunity, 
for he has given the commandment: " Honor thy father and thy mother." 

3. For greater ignominy, two malefactors were conducted with Christ 
to Calvary, to be crucified with him, one on his right hand, the other on 
his left. In the wicked heart of the wretch who was hanging on his left 
side, every feeling of humanity seemed to be extinct, for in the hour of his 
death he was malicious enough to blaspheme Jesus, with his sepulchral 
voice, saying: " If thou be Christ, help thyself and us." Far otherwise 
was it with the criminal at the right of our Lord. He had long realized, 



134 Lenten Sermons. 

with inexpressible grief, that he was treading the path to perdition. Now 
on the brink of eternity, he sees the precipice, to which his crimes have 
brought him. Remorse of conscience tortures him more than his bodily 
pains, and the thought : what will become of me in the other world ; in a 
few moments I must appear before the judgment-seat of God, torments 
him beyond description. He looks at the dying Jesus, observes in his 
countenance a divine majesty, and in his patience a calmness which only 
can come from above, and arrives at the conviction that Jesus is God ; 
that he suffers for no crime, and will die an innocent death. He con- 
fesses his conviction immediately with a loud voice, saying : ' ' We suffer 
indeed, justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man 
has done no evil." Then he rebuked his companion for blaspheming 
Jesus, saying: " Neither dost thou fear God, because thou blasphemest 
this man." The forgiving love which Jesus had shown his enemies, and 
the tender care with which he had provided for his mother, inspire him 
with great confidence and courage to address Jesus, thus : " Lord, remem- 
ber me, when thou shalt come into thy kingdom." Jesus hears the prayer 
of the repenting sinner who had gone astray, but who had returned with 
an humble and contrite heart, looks at him compassionately and merci- 
fully, and forgetting his own pains, speaks to him the words of life : 
il Amen, I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise." 

Such a reply certainly far exceeded the anticipations of the poor sinner. 
He received a greater grace than he could expect, and his last hour was 
rendered happy by the gracious words of Christ. A multitude of sinners, 
encouraged by this promise of Jesus, to do penance, enjoy now the great- 
est felicity in heaven. Even to our own hearts, wounded as they are by 
sin, these words by which Jesus promised grace and everlasting life to the 
penitent thief, are a salutary balm. If you have not lived heretofore as 
you should have, think not that there is no remedy for you, but raise your 
eyes to the cross — to your Saviour, who promises forgiveness and eternal 
life to the repentant sinner. Rise from the sleep of sin, return to God, 
your Father, who, in his boundless love and mercy, stretches out his arms 
to receive you. With God is mercy ; he says : "As I live, I desire not the 
death of a sinner, but that he turn from his evil ways and live. " Knowing 
this consoling truth, heap not sin upon sin, otherwise you will be un- 
worthy of his mercy. Do not linger on your return, do not delay your 
conversion until the moment God calls you from this world. The Scrip- 
tures give only one example of a death-bed conversion, and from it you 
cannot draw the conclusion that God will be merciful to every one who 
returns to him at his last hour. Do you hold the hands of time, that you 
can lengthen your days as you please? Are you sure that you will not die 
without a moment's warning? And assuming that you will not die sud- 
denly, but after a lingering illness, your conversion will be a difficult task, 



Lenten Sermons. 



135 



for, knowing that death is approaching, you will forsake sin, when you are 
no longer able to commit it. And do you call that a true conversion, if 
you forsake sin, only when sin has forsaken you ? O ! how seldom is a 
deathbed conversion a true conversion ? A true conversion must originate 
from a real detestation of sin, and from the love of God. The fear of 
death, and of the judgment to come, are the cause of the conversion of 
many a sinner. If you desert God in life, he will desert you in death. 
Lull not your conscience to sleep by vain and deceitful excuses, and 
delay not what alone can make you happy, namely : a true conversion, 
lest the proverb might be realized in you : "As a man lives so he, 
dies." 

4. Whilst Jesus was hanging on the cross his blood flowed in tor- 
rents from his open wounds, and by the loss of it his pains became 
more violent, and his lassitude more apparent. At length, feeling the 
bitterness of death, he lifted up his eyes to heaven in the anguish of 
his heart, and opening his mouth, he presented his afflictions to his 
eternal Father. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear/' for he 
says with a faltering voice : "My God, my God, why hast thou for- 
saken me P" 

This plaintive cry shows us the depth of his anguish, and tells how 
deeply the terrors of death affected his soul. But he clings to his 
Father with a firm confidence, calls him his God in his bitterest hour, 
and suffers with perfect conformity to his will. My brethren, our path- 
way through life is full of briars and thorns, and at the end of it, death 
is awaiting us. Blessed are we if we live in innocence and virtue, for 
then, if we are overwhelmed with suffering, our conscience will not re- 
proach us as having caused it ourselves. We can rest assured, that God 
who holds our fate in his fatherly hand, has destined them for us. If 
you have to suffer much in this world, believe firmly that you are a 
favorite of heaven, for God chastises whom he loves. These trials and 
crosses are proofs of his love for you, by which you should become better 
and more worthy of heavenly bliss, for God says: "He that is just, 
let him be justified still, and be that is holy, let him be sanctified still." 
In prosperity, you have, perhaps, forgotten your destiny : perhaps you 
have not seriously reflected upon your obligation to aspire to perfection. 
But since God has sent you crosses and afflictions you cling to him more 
closely, and study to lead a good life. Punishment without doubt is 
painful ; but, if you bear it patiently, you will reap sweet and imperish- 
able fruits. Banish every useless grief from your soul, do not murmur 
and complain of your sufferings, but consider and use them as means 
which God offers you to exercise you in patience and meekness. Say 
with your Lord and Saviour, in the hour of trial : Lord, thy will be 
done. 



136 Lenten Sermons. 

But, if you have chosen the way of sin, if it has rendered you miser- 
able, you have every reason for sorrow, for you suffer justly, and receive 
the due reward for your sins. You should feel that contrition for your 
sins, which David felt, when he said: "I know my iniqnity, and my 
sin is always before me. Cast me not away from thy face ; and take not 
thy holy spirit from me. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit ; a con- 
trite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." If sinners feel 
the consequences of sin, let them not dare to say ; I suffer innocently, 
but say to themselves, what the prophet said to the children of Israel : 
Thy own wickedness shall reprove thee, and thy own apostasy shall re- 
buke thee ; know thou and see, that it is an evil thing to have left the 
Lord. Reflect that you can remove many of your sufferings, by remov- 
ing sin, which is their cause. To-day, then, hearing his voice, do not 
harden your hearts. 

5. Jesus is exhausted from his pains and the loss of blood, his lips are 
parched. One prophecy concerning him was yet to be fulfilled : "I have 
labored with crying : my jaws are becoming hoarse : my eyes have failed, 
whilst I hope in my God. They are multiplied above the hairs of my 
head, who hate me without cause. And I looked for one who would 
grieve together with me, and there was none, and for one that would com- 
fort me, and I found none, and they gave me gall for my food, and in my 
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink," Jesus, tormented by a burning 
thirst, • says : "I thirst " 

Jesus who had given food to thousands, had not wherewith to quench 
his thirst in his dying hour. While living, he was the comfort of the un- 
fortunate, and dying, he finds no refreshment; he never permitted any one 
to go from him without his blessing, and he himself finds none to comfort 
him in this, his hour of trial. Would to God we had been present at the 
crucifixion of our Lord ! How cheerfully we would have quenched his 
thirst. And if he now sojourned visibly among us and would say: I am 
hungry, I am thirsty; O! how gladly you would share with him the last 
morsel of bread. But he is no longer visibly in our midst, and therefore, 
we can give him nothing to eat and drink, but he assures us that he will 
accept what we do to the least of our brethren, as done to himself, for he 
says: "He that shall receive one such little child in my name, receives 
me." And, after relating the parable of the generous and charitable 
Samaritan, he added: "Go, and do thou in like manner." — Luke 10: 37. 
Go, and do in like manner, I also say to you who have received from God 
the means to be useful to your fellow-men, in what manner soever it may 
be. Take the Samaritan for your model, and do as he did. Look 
at Jesus, and help your fellow-men in his name. Here you see a 
hungry man, let him not go hungry away. There you see a stranger, 



Lenten Sermons. 137 

destitute of means to pay for his lodging, God places him before your eyes, 
take him into your house in the name of Jesus, and you wiil receive Jesus 
in him. Again, persecuted innocence implores your aid; it is the most 
precious moment of your life; use it well, deliver the innocent, before the 
poor soul hastens to perdition. It may cause you some expense, but what 
'of that? Do it cheerfully, as if you were serving your Redeemer, who 
says: "By this shall all men know you are my disciples, if you love one 
.another." And suppose that those whom you help, prove ungrateful. Oh! 
think of your Redeemer who forgave his murderers, for if you love only 
those who love you, what reward shall you have ? Do not even the publi- 
cans do the same ? Therefore be merciful and charitable. And at your 
last moment, when you stand at the gate of eternity, Oh! what bliss will 
be yours, if, in answer to your knock, heaven's portals unclose, and you 
hear the words: Come, ye blessed of my father, take possession of the 
kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the world; for I was 
hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; 
I was naked, and you clothed me; I was a stranger and you took me in; 
sick, and you visited me. Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one 
•of these, my least brethren, you did it to me: 

6. Jesus is hanging on the cross between heaven and earth; nature itself 
revolts at such cruelty; the sun refuses his light, for the space of three 
hours an impenetrabe darkness overspreads the whole earth. The end of 
his sufferings is at hand. He beholds the fruition of his labors, the re- 
demption of mankind is accomplished. He raises his eyes to heaven, and 
says, with feelings of triumph and joy, iC It is consummated." 

No one could affirm this but Jesus, for, from his first entrance into the 
world to his last hour, he did the will of his Father. His maxim was: " I 
must do the will of him, that sent me." No labor fatigued him, no hu- 
miliation lessened his courage. He had been sent by his Father, to free 
11s from ignorance and sin, and in a measure most superabundant he has 
done it. Well for us, if we can say, with equal truth, in our dying hour: 
"it is consummated." If we have carefully performed our duties, we can 
appear before God with joy and confidence; nothing will trouble us; it is 
consummated. That we may be able to say so when death calls us away, 
let us follow the example of our Master, let us scrupulously fulfil our duties, 
let us not waste our precious time in idleness, for the night will come when 
no one can work. Husbands and wives, walk diligently now in the ways 
of the Lord,- comfort each other in afflictions, spend daily some time in 
prayer, that God may give you his grace, to fulfil faithfully what you 
promised with a solemn oath, at the altar of God: Then you may say when 
the last dread summons comes: "It is consummated." Parents, be care- 
ful of the salvation of your children, teach them by word and example, 



138 Lenten Sermons. 

have them instructed in religion in early youth; see that they learn some- 
thing by which they can earn their bread in honesty: then, if departing 
hence you see that your children are beloved by God and men, you can 
say with a good conscience: "It is consummated/' Children, obey the 
commandment of God: honor thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest 
live long on earth; never be wiser than your parents, do not slight them 
nor their commands. Be thankful to them for all they have done and 
suffered for you. Then, whether you die young or old, you can say: "It 
is consummated." Suffering friends, imitate your Lord and Master, 
suffer with patience if you cannot with joy. Sufferings endure but a little 
while: they open for you a pathway into heaven. If you bear with patience 
what little afflictions fall to your lot in this world, under the hand of God's 
mercy, you will escape those far greater ones which the souls detained in 
the prison of purgatory are suffering under the hands of his justice, and 
you can say in your dying hour: "It is consummated." 

7. Paleness has covered the Redeemer's face. He seems to have ex- 
pired, but no; once more he opens his eyes, and looking up to heaven 
with confidence, raises his voice for the last time: "He that hath ears to 
hear, let him hear" the dying words of the Redeemer: "Father, into thy 
hands, I commend my spirit. " 

The hour of separation of the soul from the body will also come for us. 
That hour will be decisive for all eternity, and the end we shall make, will 
be of the greatest importance. It we ponder seriously on the termination 
of our life, a torturing anguish overpowers and takes possession of us. 
What anguish would seize us if the moment were really now at hand in 
which our summons would come to give up our spirit into the hands of the 
living God. All the good we have neglected, all the evil we have done, 
and of which have been the cause, will then come to our recollection, and 
and stare us in the face. Proud men, whose thoughts are concentrated 
upon your elegant attire, your worldly possessions, the honors that attend 
you; who think yourselves superior to others, who despise your poor 
neighbors, what anguish will befall you, when you shall be compelled to 
surrender your souls into the hands of God, who resists the proud and gives 
his grace to the humble. You, who are unjust in your dealings with others, 
who destroy the prosperity of your fellow-men, and build on the ruins of 
their fortune, your own, what anguish will seize you, when you must sur- 
render your souls into the hands of him who has said: " Tlie unjust and 
covetous shall not possess the kingdom of God." You, unmerciful men, 
who close your ears to the entreaties of the poor, who ridicule the tears of 
the afflicted and oppressed, what anguish will befall you, when you must 
yield your souls into the hands of him, who will pass judgment without mercy, 
on all those that show no mercy. You, sensual and effeminate men, who 



Lenten Sermons. 139 

seduce innocence by sweet flattery and flippant promises, who heap crimes 
upon crimes, scandals upon scandals, who have no perception of what is 
right and good, how will you feel when you surrender your souls into the 
hands of him who has said, that: " Neither fornicators nor adulterers shall 
possess the kingdom of God." Parents, who introduce your children to 
the follies and crimes of the world before they have power and understand- 
ing to resist them, who for want of watching over them, give them to per- 
dition, what anguish will befall you, when you surrender your souls into 
the hands ot him who has said: " If a man have not care of his own, and 
especially of those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse 
than an infidel." Children, who disobey and dishonor your parents, what 
shame and confusion will overwhelm you, when you must approach the 
judgment-seat of God, who has said: "Honor thy father and thy mother." 

These are the seven words of our Lord, spoken on the cross for our in- 
struction. The first word: " Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do," teaches us to forgive our enemies from our hearts. The second 
word: " Woman behold thy son, Son, behold thy mother" admonishes us to 
love, honor, and obey our parents. The third word: " This day thou shall 
be with me in paradise," exhorts us to do penance for our sins. The fourth: 
" My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me" bids us cling to God in 
times of adversity. The fifth: "I thirst," tells us that in the persons of the 
poor we help and assist Christ himself. The sixth: " // is, consummated" 
encourages us to be zealous and faithful in the performance of our duties; 
and the seventh: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" reminds us 
that we should walk in the presence of God, and commend our souls now, 
and at all times, into his hands. Let us at the foot of the cross, promise 
to God, henceforth to comply with all this. Let us act resolutely and ful- 
fil what we have promised. Then when the final hour comes, and life is 
closing for us, let us turn our dying eyes to Jesus, and remember that he is 
the Eternal Light. When the film of death darkens our vision, and the 
world is fading from our view let us think that Jesus is our light and our 
exceeding great reward. Oh ! let us ever be faithful to the good resolu- 
tions which we have to-day written down upon our hearts. Amen. 



LENTEN SERMONS. 



FOURTH COURSE. 



SEVEN SERMONS. 



Lenten Sermons. 143 



HOMILY I. 



THE WASHING OF THE FEET, PETER, JUDAS, AND THE QUESTIONS OF THE 

DISCIPLES. 

41 O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow tike to 

my sorrow ; for he hath made a vintage of me, as the Lord 

spoke in the day of his fierce anger." — Lam. 1 .• 12. 

These words clearly indicate the subject I have selected for our Lenten 
meditations. It is the Passion and death of Jesus Christ who has re- 
deemed us from sin and hell. We will consider not so much sin in itself 
as the Victim for sin. What atonement does sin demand ? You are fully 
aware that sin is an infinite evil, and that for its atonement an infinite sac- 
rifice is required. Hence God himself is and must be the victim. The 
question is : Has God made this sacrifice ? Did he permit his love to 
reach such lofty heights that it led him to offer himself in expiation for 
those who offended him by their crimes ? Our holy faith answers this im- 
portant question : Yes, ye poor miserable sinners, God himself became 
the sacrifice for your sins. The omnipotent Father spared not his only- 
begotten Son, but sacrificed him for the sins of the world. Look up to 
Calvary and behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the 
world, crying out : "It is consummated." 

The victim dies. Who is it that dies ? The holy, the spotless Son of 
God. But oh! eternal Father; he is thy only-begotten Son! He is the 
light and life of the world — and he dies! Must he die? And the Father 
replies: He dies, and die he must. But why must he die? Because of 
sin. Of sin ! And whence comes sin ? Sin is the work of man. And for 
it, thy Son must die? How my, brethren, is it for me, for you, for all the 
sinners of the world, the Son of God must die ? The innocent Jesus for 
guilty sinners, the Creator for the creature, the God of holiness for fallen 
sinful man ? Ah ! who could believe this, if our holy faith did not assure 
us, saving : The infinite God alone can make an infinite sacrifice ; without 
this sacrifice, sin remains — without this sacrifice, there is no redemption. 
Truly, sin must be something terrible, something awful, since it demands 
so enormous a sacrifice. If we bestow due consideration and attention on 
its magnitude, we will be forced to exclaim with St. Thomas of Villanova : 
■• ' My Lord and my God, you carried your love to too great an extent 



144 Lenten Sermons. 

With fear and trembling I must confess that you transgressed the limits of 
justice, and whilst wishing to be just, you were overjust. Your love of 
justice renders you unjust ; for what kind of justice is it, that requires 
your Son to die for a servant ; the innocent for the guilty ? Is not the 
reparation you demand greater than the loss sustained ? " Indeed, a single 
drop of the precious blood of Christ would have more than sufficed to 
accomplish the redemption of mankind, but the justice of God demanded 
it even to the very last drop. 

The manner of the offering should also correspond with the greatness of 
the sacrifice. It was to be offered in the most painful, ignominious, and 
cruel manner. Whatever the martyrs suffered, they suffered in body, but 
in Christ were united the bitterest mental and bodily pains, for which 
reason he is called the Man of Sorrows. The martyrs even in the midst 
of their tortures could rejoice, because they knew that they would possess 
him for whom they gave their life, but Christ knew that he would never 
win all for whom he was shedding his blood ; he knew that the greater- 
part of mankind would be lost, notwithstanding his Passion and death, as 
Isaias had foretold: "In vain have I labored, in vain have I exhausted 
my strength. " W T hatever the martyrs suffered, they suffered at the hands 
of men, their equals, but the Son of God was smitten and wounded by 
his creatures, and by the hand of God, as the prophet says : "We hold 
him for* a leper, whom the Lord has stricken and humbled." Tlie cause of 
his death is as astonishing as the manner in which it was inflicted. Jesus is 
innocent before his Father in heaven, the devil has no part in him. Jesus, 
therefore defrayed a debt which he did not owe. The Father himself 
acknowledged him as innocent, speaking from heaven. " This is my be- 
loved Son, in whom I am well pleased. " His enemies confessed his inno- 
cence, for no one could convince him of sin. The wife of Pilate affirmed 
his innocence, saying to Pilate : " Have thou nothing to do with this just 
man." Pilate himself declared : "I find no cause in him." The traitor 
Judas confessed : "I have betrayed innocent blood," and at the foot of 
the cross, the Roman centurion, striking his breast, cried out : "Truly 
this man is just and the Son of God." All the witnesses say : "The 
victim is innocent," but the justice of God demanded that the innocent 
should die for the guilty. — Venerable Bede relates that the stone, on which 
our Saviour prayed to his heavenly Father in the garden of Gethsemane, 
became so soft that the impression of his knees remained thereon. Are 
our hearts harder than a rock ? The sun was darkened, the earth 
trembled, the rocks were rent, the heart of Mary was pierced by a two- 
edged sword, when sin demanded this sacrifice. Can we remain cold and 
insensible, unmoved, when it is for us this sacrifice is offered ? Ah no ! I 
know that the suffering and dying Redeemer is your hope, your refuge, 
your love. I know that Christ crucified is neither the history of 



Lenten Sermons. 145 

an idle tale nor a stumbling block to you, but that he is your adorable 
Redeemer. I know that you look up with a heart full of love and hope 
to the Lamb on the altar of the cross, and for this reason our suffering 
and dying Redeemer shall be the subject of our meditations during the 
holy season of Lent. 

1. The bitter Passion of our Lord was preluded by a sign of love so un- 
precedented that all heaven and earth looked with amazement upon the 
scene,. When Christ had eaten with his Apostles the Paschal lamb, he 
arose, laid aside his garments, and having taken a towel, he girded him- 
self, poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of his dis- 
ciples. Of all the Evangelists, St. John alone mentions this wonderful 
action of Jesus, and he describes it in a remarkable manner, in order to 
arouse our admiration. He begins his description by an introduction, in 
which he points out to us the Omniscience, Love, and Divinity of Jesus 
Christ. His words are : ' ' Before the festival of the pasch, Jesus, know- 
ing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the 
Father, having lowed his own, he loved them to the end. These 
words ; " knowing that his hour was come," signify his omniscience ; " that 
he should pass to the Lather," signify his Divinity ; and "he loved his own 
to the end his " signify his Love. Jesus, the only-begotten of the Father, 
and co-equal to him in all things, prostrates himself like a menial at the 
feet of poor fishermen. Abigail washed the feet of the servants of David. 
Abraham washed those of the three Angels who went to Sodom. Mary 
Magdalene washed those of Jesus with her tears, but the humility of 
all these loses its lustre before that which prompted our divine Saviour. 
The Apostles were astonished when they saw their Master pour water into- 
the basin and perform before their eyes a work of such great love and self- 
abnegation. They had frequently witnessed the greatest miracles wrought 
by thejr Master, but never had they beheld anything like this. The Lord 
of heaven and earth to wash the feet of his disciples ! In the Red Sea 
the Lord performed marvelous works, for there he manifested the omni- 
potence of his arm, when he cast the proud and obdurate Pharoah with 
his whole army into the depths of the sea, but he appears more wonderful 
with the basin of water at the feet of his disciples, for therein he drowns 
the pride and haughtiness of the world. Truly, as long as the world exists 
men will never be able to comprehend what the Son of God in his pro- 
found humility accomplished at the feet of his disciples, What a picture ! 
Jesus kneels at the feet of the Apostles, the maker of the universe bends 
low in the dust, the Creator prostrates himself before the work of his 
hands to perform the office of a servant, to wash the feet of his disciples ! 
Admire your humble Jesus, who, kneeling in the dust, cries out : " Learn 
of me, because I am meek and humble of heart." When the Lord ap- 
proached Peter to wash his feet, Peter said : Lord, dost thou wash mv feet ? 



146 Lenten Sermons. 

St. Augustine, explaining this passage, says : When Peter saw the Son of 
God kneel before him, he grew pale, trembled, and in his astonishment 
cried out : Lord, dost thou wash my feet ? No, thou shalt never wash my 
feet. Peter was terrified by the incomprehensible self-abasement of his 
Master, and in his consternation asked him : Lord, dost thou wash my 
feet ? As if he would say : Lord, thou wilt not wash my hands, my head, 
but my feet, the lowest and most insignificant part of my body, with those 
hands which have made heaven and earth, fed the hungry, cleansed the 
lepers, and raised the dead to life. When St. John the Baptist, who, ac- 
cording to thy own testimony, was the greatest among those born of 
women, deemed himself far too unworthy to loose the latchet of thy shoe, 
how can I, without making myself guilty of culpable pride, suffer thy 
adorable hands to wash my unclean feet ! How can I suffer thee to 
humble thyself so far as to kneel before me. No, sweet Lord, Son of the 
living God, thou shalt never wash them: it is my duty, sinner that I am, to 
prostrate myself before thee in the dust and to serve thee. O Christians, 
who call this humble Jesus your God, your Master, your Teacher, fix your 
eyes upon this divine marvel, and contemplate it with tenderness and 
affection; then look into your own heart which is puffed up with intolerable 
pride and ambition. Where is your conformity to your divine Master ? 
The God of glory did not hesitate to wash the feet of sinful men, that he 
might destroy your vanity, confound your pride, and teach you humility. 

Jesus, seeing Peter so persistently resist his love and humility, said: 
"Peter, if I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me." The apostle, 
hearing this, exclaimed: "Lord, wash not only my feet, but also my hands 
and head." These words of our Lord: "If I wash thee not, thou shalt 
not have part in me," concern us also. We, too, must be washed by 
Christ, otherwise we can have no part with him, for who can cleanse us, 
who have been conceived and born in sin, but he who washed the feet of 
his disciples ? But, indeed, we all have been washed by Jesus Christ, it 
being Christ, not man, that baptizes. We have been cleansed, but who 
has preserved untarnished the white robe of innocence with which he was 
invested at his baptism ? Alas ! if we look around and examine all the 
stages and conditions of life from youth to old age, we can scarcely go 
beyond the limits of childhood and find one who has retained his nuptial 
garment pure and undefiled. We need a second purification, a new bath, 
to restore the pristine brightness, with which Christ adorned our hearts. 
Behold, the Lord himself goes to prepare for us a new bath in his precious 
blood, wherein alone our purification can be accomplished, and it is Christ 
only that can effect it. To him we must cry with the prophet: "Wash 
me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Wash, O 
Lord, the garment which thou gavest us in Baptism, for we have defiled it 
by sin; wash it in thy blood. In the blood of thy sacred head wash our 



Lenten Sermons. 147 

pride; in the blood of thy adorable heart wash our envy; in the blood of 
thy holy hands wash our wicked and sinful deeds; in the blood of thy 
wounded feet wash Our sloth and negligence in the affair of salvation. 
Wash us, O Jesus, in thy blood, that we may appear before thy judgment- 
seat, clothed in the nuptial garment of innocence.'"' It is the opinion of 
St. John Chrysostom that the Lord commenced the washing of the feet 
with Judas. He says: i( I think, Jesus washed first the feet of the traitor," 
and St. Thomas of Aquin asserts that the washing of the feet was done by 
the Lord principally for the sake of Judas, in order to humble him and to 
cause him to desist from his diabolical design. 

2. St. John was struck with amazement when in his revelations, he saw a 
woman girded with the sun, having the moon under her feet, and he ex- 
claimed: " A great sign appeared in heaven." But oh ! beloved disciple of 
Jesus, what seals your lips when you see your Lord and God kneel' at the 
feet of this wretched, miserable Judas? Why do you not now exclaim: 
"A great sign appeared on earth" Behold the eternal Son of God at the 
feet of a man who is surrounded not by light but by infernal darkness! 
Behold, holiness kneels before crime; justice, before iniquity; love, before 
;malice; God himself kneeling in the dust before a servant of the devil. 
When Simon the Pharisee saw Mary Magdalene fall down at the feet of 
Jesus and bathe them with her tears, he could not comprehend why the 
Lord permitted himself to be touched by a woman who was known by all 
to be a public sinner, therefore he presumed to pass a rash judgment: "If 
we were a prophet, he would certainly know what kind of woman that is, 
who touches him," he would know that she is a public sinner. O sinner, 
if it were but vouchsafed you to behold the Lord himself at the feet of 
Judas, you could say with greater justice: "If he were a prophet; he could 
easily measure the depths of that guilty heart, and, knowing before whom 
he kneels, and whose feet he washes, would know that he kneels before his 
own betrayer. And yet he is a prophet and more than a prophet, being 
King of the Prophets, whose all-seeing eye perceived what was passing in 
the heart of Judas, w r ho knew that he prostrated himself before a devil, a? 
St. John says: " The devil had given it into the heart of Judas to betray 
Jesus. 

When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert and showed him all the king- 
doms of the world and the glory thereof, and promised to give him all 
these if, falling down, he would adore him, Jesus, full of indignation, said 
to him: Begone, Satan J and here he kneels before him. And why ? In the 
first instance the salvation of no soul was imperiled, but in the latter case 
the Lord sees the soul of Judas in imminent danger. Christ hereby teaches 
us, that a soul is of more value than all the kingdoms of the world, as he 
afterwards said: What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and 



148 Lenten Sermons. 

lose his own soul ? In order to wrest this unhappy soul from the abyss 
into which it had plunged, Jesus refuses not to kneel before Judas. But 
neither his humility nor his love and tears could soften that hardened heart. 

3. Seeing this, Jesus decreed to wash him in his most precious blood. For 
shortly after washing the feet of his disciples, he instituted the most holy 
Sacrament of the Altar. Under the appearance of bread and wine he gave 
to his Apostles his body and blood, to Judas, too, whom he placed near 
himself, that he might keep him far from evil. But as the humility of the 
kneeling Jesus was powerless to move the heart of the traitor, so his love in 
the Blessed Sacrament produced no effect on him. Judas was the first that 
received Communion unworthily. The deepest sadness overwhelmed the 
spirit of Jesus, and he said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you shall 
betray me," Seeing that all his exertions to save Judas were unavailing, and 
that he persevered in his diabolical project, profound sorrow and dejection 
seized the sacred heart of our Lord. He trembled for the soul of Judas, 
which he wished to save, and he made one more effort to move the 
wretched apostle to repentance, by warning him publicly. All the other 
Apostles were touched, only one remained unmoved — Judas — for spiritual 
blindness, alas! is the consequence of an unworthy Communion. The 
Apostles, desponding and sorrowful, asked their Master: Is it I, Lord, am 
I the traitor, Peter taking the lead; whereupon St. John Chrysostom ad- 
dresses him in these words: O great apostle, your conscience bears your 
testimony that you have never offended your divine Master, that you always 
loved him, why, then, do you ask: Is it I? Oh Lord! No, you never can 
betray him whom you confessed to be the Son of the living God. And 
you, St. John, beloved disciple of the Lord, your soul is so pure, your 
heart without guile, your love so great, why do you ask: Is it I ? Oh 
Lord ! Am I the traitor ? Why do all the other Apostles ask this question? 
This is a certain characteristic of pious souls; they always live in holy fear. 
Those who love God sincerely always tremble lest they may lose him, and, 
although their conscience does not reproach them, they are aware and con- 
vinced of their weakness, and in holy humility fear lest they commit sin. 
This also proves that, without a special revelation from above, no one knows^ 
whether he is worthy of love or hatred. 

4. But who, finally, draws near to his Saviour, his whole mien expressive 
of tenderest love, and his heart, apparently full of sympathy for his sor- 
rowing Lord ? Who asks : Master, is it I, am I the traitor ? Full of in- 
dignation St. Augustine explains: " Judas, whom do you ask : Is it I ? 
Master ! do you not know that he is omniscient ? He knows and sees 
that you are the unfortunate wretch, of whom the Scripture says : He 
that eats bread with me raises his heel against me. Give heed then, Judas, 
your Master answers your question in plain and simple words : Yes, 



Lenten Sermons. 149 

it is you that will betray me" O Judas, how is it possible that your heart 
is not shaken to its inmost depths with contrition. Wherefore do you 
not fling your treachery to hell whence it came ? When Saul persecuted 
David, Jonathan said to the king : Sin not, my lord, against thy servant 
David, for he has not sinned against thee. His works to thee are good, 
and he has placed his soul in thy hands, he has slain the Philistines and 
has saved Israel. Why will you shed innocent blood? Why will you kill 
David, who has done no evil ? When Saul heard these words of his son, 
he was pacified and said : "As the Lord liveth he shall not die." With 
the words of Jonathan, I will address Judas : Sin not against your God, 
for he has not offended you, he has done great things for you, he has 
placed his body and soul in your hands. Why will you betray innocent 
blood ? Oh, say with Saul : As the Lord liveth, he shall not die, I will 
not betray him. Ask no longer: Is it I? O Lord ! but cast yourself at 
the feet of your Lord, confess your guilt and say with an humble heart : 
Yes, O Lord, it is I. 

Oh, what joy Christ would have experienced if Judas had acknowl- 
edged his fault, if he had humbly said : "Lord, I have sinned against 
thee, but behold, here I am at thy feet. Pardon me, Oh Lord ! thy 
loving heart went out to Magdalene in grace and mercy when fainting be- 
neath the weight of her sins; she cast herself at thy feet, be thou also a 
God of mercy to me. With tears of bitterness and compunction, I will 
bewail my sin, which thy mercy surpasses by far. Pardon me." Had 
Judas done this, his salvation would have been secured, for Christ came 
into the world to seek and to save that which was lost. He is the incar- 
nate mildness, his heart is overflowing with mercy, he welcomes all who 
return to him from their evil ways. Had Judas struck his breast with sorrow, 
Christ would not have rejected him, he would have received him, embraced 
him, and one throb of his sacred heart would have cast the demon from 
his tempted soul. He would have rejoiced, because that soul was 
snatched from perdition ; like the good shepherd, he would have brought 
the lost sheep back to the fold, like that tender father mentioned in the 
Gospel, he would have exclaimed : Let us rejoice : Because this my son 
was dead, and is come to life again : he was lost, and is found. But, alas ! 
Judas remained hardened, obdurate, and persevered in sin. O, the hard- 
ness of heart, God kneels before Judas, and Judas remains hardened, Jesus 
■washes and kisses his feel, and Judas remains hardened, Jesus gives him 
his body and blood, and Judas remains hardened, Jesus is troubled and 
trembles, and Judas remains hardened, Jesus lays open the secrets of his 
heart, and Judas remains hardened, the Apostles in their turn ask : Is it I ? 
O Lord, and Judas remains hardened, he himself asks this question, and his 
Lord and God says, yes, it is you, still Judas remains hardened. All our 
Saviour's anguish seems forgotten — yes, even his Passion and death sink 



150 Lenten Sermons. 

into oblivion. He, the betrayed, mourns over the traitor, but in vain, for 
Judas remains hardened and perseveres in sin. Oh, how terrible are the 
effects of an unworthy Communion ! 

PERORATION. 

God grant that the history of the wretched Judas may not prove unavail- 
ing for us ! Truly, Jesus embraces us with the same love, he enriches us 
with the same graces, and invites us with the same tenderness to return 
from the way of sin, he has cleansed us in the bath of regeneration, re- 
ceived us into the number of his friends and disciples, he nourishes our 
souls with his own flesh and blood, he evinces nothing towards us but the 
tenderest love. But if we look into our hearts, if we examine ourselves, 
can we say with the other Apostles, Lord, is it I ? without fearing to 
hear the answer : Yes, it is you that have betrayed me. My brethren, what 
testimony does your conscience give you ? How is it in regard to your 
profession of faith, your fervor and fidelity in the observance of the com- 
mandments of God ? What is the object of your care and anxiety upon 
earth ? To what does your soul cling ? What does your heart love ? Is 
it your God, your Saviour ? Is it he alone, or have you become traitors, 
and again enlisted under the banner of sin ? Ah, our life, our conscience 
bears testimony against us, that we are traitors to Christ and false to his 
holy cause. But although our sins be great and numerous, let us take to< 
heart this consoling truth that the mercy of God is still greater. The 
sacred heart of Jesus should inspire us with confidence, courage and love. 
Judas did not acknowledge his guilt ; oh, let us not walk in his footsteps.. 
Christ trembles not only for his soul, but also for yours and mine. With- 
out asking, Lord, is it I ? let us at once confess : Lord, it is I. I ac- 
knowledge my injustice, and my sins are continually before my eyes. 
Against thee, I have sinned and done evil before thee. It is I, O Lord, 
who betrayed thee for the miserable price of sin. It is I who slighted thy 
warnings, who abused thy mercy, and who transgressed thy divine precepts 
and laws. Lord, I know and acknowledge my guilt ; I am sorry for it 
from the deepest depths of my heart. Pardon my sin, rescue me from 
perdition, wash my soul in thy blood. O, sacred heart of Jesus, I beseech 
thee, not only for myself, but for all sinners, for all hardened hearts. For 
the love thou has wasted in vain to soften the heart of Judas and to save 
his soul, I humbly beg thee, to infuse thy love into the hearts of all assem- 
bled here, that in holy repentance they may seek pardon from thee who- 
goest forth to death, that sinners may live. Suffer not, O merciful Jesus,, 
one of these to become a second Judas. 



Lenten Sermons. 15 



HOMILY II. 



the garden of gethsemane, the prayer, the agony and the bloody 
sweat of christ, and the coming of the angel. 

" O all ye thai pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like /& 

my sorrow ; for he hath made a vintage of me, as the Lord 

spoke in the day of his fierce anger." — Lam. 1 : 12. 

" My soul is sorrowful even unto death :" (Matt. 26 : 28), thus the Lord 
said to his disciples. Jesus is not sorrowful on account of death but unto- 
death. Should you ask the reason why he was sorrowful unto death, I 
answer : The Eternal Father wished his only-begotten Son to atone hot 
only for original sin, but also for all actual sins, mortal and venial, which 
have been and will be committed from the beginning of the world until 
time shall be no more. For this reason the pure and spotless soul of 
Christ was filled r with pain and sorrow. According to the law of God, 
without penance there is unquestionably no salvation for those who, hav- 
ing passed the innocent years of childhood, have stained their soul with 
sin! Christ says: "Unless you do penance you shall all likewise 
perish." — Luke 13:5. No forgiveness for them till they have trodden 
the dolorous way of the cross. 

Not every kind of penance, however, effaces sin. King Saul wept and 
did penance, and yet he was rejected by the Lord. Anliochus was sorry 
for the sacrilege he had committed — yet there was no pardon for him. 
The unfortunate fudas repented. Oh, how deep was his sorrow ! The 
Scripture tells us : He brought back the pieces of silver, and cried aloud 
to the chief priests and all who were present : "I have sinned in betraying 
innocent blood.'"' — Matt. 27: 4. They replied : "What is that to us? 
Look you to it." St. Matthew tells us that casting down the pieces of 
silver in the temple, he departed and went and hanged himself with a 
halter. In order to efface sin, a repentance corresponding with the great- 
ness of the guilt is required, which will-lead the soul — not to despair like 
Judas, but to the love of God. Man of himself being powerless to excite 
such a sorrow, the soul of Jesus became sorrowful in order to give to the 
Sacrament of Penance the virtue and efficacy which are necessary for the 
forgiveness of sin ; therefore, Christ supplied by his God-like sorrow what 
was wanting to our sorrow. 



152 Lenten Sermons. 

1. Behold, O Christian, the soul of our Redeemer is sorrowful unto death, 
because he no longer sees in your soul, the image and likeness of God. 
Christ's holy soul is filled with sorrow because your soul grieves not at 
having lost God in the devious paths of sin where you stray with such joy. 
His holy soul is sorrowful even unto death, because jy our soul is defiled by 
sin unto death. If you lose a child, a father, a mother, a wife, or husband, 
nay, even an unimportant law-suit, you exclaim: " My soul is sorrowful 
unto death. " But when you lose the grace of God, innocence, heaven, 
even your immortal soul, you cease not for one moment to enjoy the 
pleasures of life. My soul is sorrowful, says our divine Redeemer, for 
whilst I pledge my soul for you, you turn from me, lest the sight of my 
anguish compel you to forsake those sins which are the cause of my sorrow. 
The number of sinners is great, yet how few, how very few! have a heart- 
felt sorrow for sin ! If the forgiveness of sin depended on man alone, very 
few would obtain it; for this reason Christ took upon himself our sins, that 
the merit and efficacy of his sorrow might supply the deficiency of ours; his 
sorrow extended to all sin, hence: " My soul is sorrowful even unto death." 

Whence cometh this excessive anguish ? Jesus sees himself condemned 
to death by the Holy Ghost who is Charity; he turns to his heavenly Father 
who has no solace, no comfort for him; the sins of the whole world crush 
him down, whilst his coming tortures rise vividly before him. He knows 
that one of his chosen twelve will basely barter away his life. Oh! how 
deep must have been his grief, knowing, as he did, by his omniscience that 
the Holy Ghost had decreed that he should die. The Holy Spirit is Charity 
and knows not how to punish, but gives life to all, yet in regard to Christ 
who is fully equal to him, he seems to forget his attribute, prophesying by 
the mouth of Caiphas, the high-priest: "It is expedient that one man 
should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." — John 
11: 50. The words: "for the people," signify the love and mercy of the 
Holy Ghost who condemned the innocent Jesus to death in order to show 
mercy to sinners. To be punished by the hand which in its very essence 
is charity, which in its infinite mercy spares sinners, caused Christ's sorrow 
on Mount Olivet, and for this reason he exclaimed: "My soul is sorrowful 
even unto death." With a touching appeal from this sentence of the Holy 
Ghost, he turns to his heavenly Father, and prays: "Father, if it be pos- 
sible, let his chalice pass from me." The hope of being heard seems to 
strengthen him, for the loving Father must hear the prayer of his innocent, 
well-beloved Son. The Son turns to the Father, he knows him to be the 
Father of mercy and the God of consolation. To him plead not only his 
anguish and innocence, but also the punishments and sufferings which all 
unmerited though they be, are pitilessly waiting for him. Surely his Father^ 
will not be deaf to his prayer. In this hope, he says: Father, let this chalice 
pass from me, have compassion on me. Behold, I have announced thy 



Lenten Sermons. 153 

holy will to the children of men. I have always fulfilled thy holy will, oh, 
let this bitter chalice pass from me. But his heavenly Father hears him 
not, for although he is the Father of mercy and God of consolation, he is 
also the God of justice, and, as an offended Judge, will not change the sen- 
tence of the Holy Ghost. God spared not his only-begotten Son, but gave 
him for us all. Not to be heard by his Father, but to be condemned to 
death, notwithstanding his innocence, this caused Christ's bitter grief on 
Mount Olivet, and forced from him the cry: " My soul is sorrowful even 
unto death." 

The prophet Isaiah (53: 6) says, " The Lord hath laid on him the ini- 
quity of us all. We also read, that when Achan was stoned at the command 
of Josue, all Israel participated. "Every one cast a stone at him." — Josue 
7: 2. What was done to Achan by the Jews was done to Christ in the 
garden of Gethsemane by all men of whole world. All Israel stoned him, 
i. e., all men who lived from the beginning of the world and who shall live 
to the end of time cast the stones of their sins upon the innocent Jesus, and 
he assumed the enormous weight in order to satisfy his offended Father. Oh, 
what ignominy overwhelmed our Saviour when, borne down with this 
burden of guilt, he could cry out with Esdras : ' ' My God, I am confounded 
and ashamed to lift up my face to thee, for our iniquities have multiplied 
over our heads, and our sins are grown up even into heaven." — 2. Esdras 
9: 6. One sin is more abominable in the sight of God than the rotteness 
of all wounds, more abominable than the putridness of all carcasses. We 
can scarcely imagine the confusion of our dear Lord, when this envenomed 
mass of sin — the sins of the whole world — fell upon him. This is what 
made Jesus exclaim: " My soul is sorrowful even unto death." 

Indeed, his sorrow and confusion reached such a climax that he dared 
not lift up his face, as St. Matthews says, but, "fell on his face" (26: 39). 
St. John Chrysostom remarks: "Ah, he who is higher than the heavens is 
bowed to the ground, and lies on his face. " But why is he prostrate on 
his face ? Why is he ashamed ? We are the sinners, not he; we are the 
culprits, not he. Our presumption permits us to raise our eyes, and thou, 
O divine Redeemer, why dost thou cast thine own upon the ground ? His 
infinite love gives answer. He falls on his face in order to raise our eyes 
to heaven, and to fill us with shame and confusion on account of our sins. 
Our iniquities are gone over his head, and as a heavy burden have weighed 
him to the earth. O Christians, my astonishment ceases that it was sin which 
hurled the third part of the Angels from the joys of heaven into that abyss, 
whose flames were enkindled by the wrath of God. Can we marvel thereat 
since it laid prostrate the Lord of heaven into the dust of the earth. I no 
longer wonder that sin casts a soul into perdition, since it cast the spotless 
Lamb of God upon his face. No, I wonder not at that, but I admire the 



154 Lenten Sermons. 

love of Christ, because by its excess he lies in the dust and voluntarily 
bears the infinite load, the guilt of mankind. I admire and adore the 
loving heart of Jesus, which is sorrowful even unto death on account of 
my sins, yours, and those of the whole world. There, in the garden of Olives 
my sins, yours, and the sins of all men, have cried out to our Lord: "Bow 
down, that we may trample upon thee, lay thy body on the ground as a 
way for us over which to pass." There in the garden of Olives the con- 
cupiscence of the flesh, with all its train of wicked thoughts, carnal desires, 
immodest language and songs, impudent looks, criminal and shameless 
touches, impurities, adulteries, incests, sacrileges, all these cry out: Bow 
down, spotless Lamb of God, let thy body be the path for our feet. The 
concupiscence of the eyes, theft, fraud, usury, bribery, envy, avarice, and 
every kind of injustice, cry out: Prostrate thyself on the ground, we too re- 
quire thy body for a path. The pride of life, anger, revenge, vanity, am- 
bition, pride, and cruelty, cry out: Bow down, O Jesus, detain us not — 
we must trample thee down ! And what did Jesus do ? He bowed down 
his head, prostrated himself on the ground, and buried his face in the dust, 
that the long, repulsive train might go over. O Christians, give heed, and 
never forget that our sins cast Christ to the ground, on account of their 
weight he lies in the dust. Let your hearts be touched by this spectacle of 
love, and make the solemn promise to your sorrowful Saviour never to 
offend him again. 

2. Whilst our Saviour was lying on his face, the justice of the Father pre- 
sented before his soul, in vivid colors, the tortures of the coming night 
and the following day, in consequence of which, his soul was tormented 
with such anguish that his sweat became blood and in great drops rolled 
down upon the ground. Drops of blood ? What is this ? Who moistens 
the arid soil of that garden with his blood ? I see no scourges that tear 
his body, no thorns that wound his head, no nails that pierce his hands 
and feet. But woe ! woe ! I see there my sins, your sins, and the sins of 
the whole world. These are the scourges that tear his body, these are the 
thorns that wound his heart, these are the heavy burden which he cannot 
bear without sweating blood. How could it be otherwise than that he 
should sweat blood, he thought of the sins of all, he was penetrated with 
sorrow and sadness for all sins, as if he had committed them himself. His 
sorrow and contrition was of infinite strength, because being an infinite 
God, he comprehended the infinite malice of sin. On account of this in- 
finite sorrow, he is called the Man of Sorrows. Being filled with bitter- 
ness and grief, he exclaimed : My soul is sorrowful even unto death. 
Jesus wept when he stood at the grave of Lazarus whom he loved, he wept 
over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, because in the blindness and hardness 
of their hearts they had rejected his love, mercy, and grace ; how, then, 
can we wonder that he shed tears of blood seeing that thousands upon 



Lenten Sermons. 155 

thousands of souls created for eternal life, live and die in sin, and are 
buried in hell ? How can we wonder that the anguish of his soul was so 
great that his sweat fell in drops of blood from his whole body. 

When the wrath of God burst forth over Egypt for the sins she had com- 
mitted against Israel, the chastisements commenced and ended with the 
death of the first-born. Will, then, the bloody sweat of Christ be the be- 
ginning and his death the end, since he is the first-born of the Father, and 
since in him all the sons of mankind will be punished ? Indeed, each one 
of the signs foreshadows this terrible conclusion. It is a law of nature that 
the blood suddenly flows to the heart when it is seized with anguish and 
perturbation. But with the Redeemer, it is the very reverse. His heart 
is oppressed, and his soul sorrowful unto death, yet his blood flows not 
from the members of his body to the heart. In direct violation of nature's 
law, it forces its way in great drops thick and fast from every pore, that 
his heart, destitute of all solace, might feel the keener anguish and pain 
for our sins. The two eyes with which nature has provided man to express 
his emotions by tears sufficed not our Saviour, who shed tears of blood 
from every pore, and all for us! Would it not seem as if the innocent 
Jesus had sinned more greviously than Adam, since he is punished more 
severely than our progenitor ? I grant that the penalties meted out to- 
Adam for his great disobedience by the offended majesty of God were 
severe, but the chastisement was tempered by mercy and by the circum- 
stance of its being divided between Adam and Eve. God said to Adam : 
"In the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat thy bread,' 7 and to Eve : "In 
labor, thou shalt bring forth children. " Both punishments, however, are 
inflicted on Christ, namely : labor and sweat ; labor, when the dark waves 
of trouble encompassed his soul ; sweat, when, in the garden of Olives, 
the perspiration flowed like blood to the ground, and when, bathed in 
tears of blood, he exclaimed : "Oh all ye that pass by the way, attend and 
see if there is any grief like to my grief. My soul is sorrowful, even unto- 
death.'"' But what was the cause of this bloody sweat ! Alas ! my breth- 
ren, as in all the other tortures of Jesus, when we ask the cause, the hor- 
rible echo : sin, sin, reverberates with painful force. Yes, Christians, seek 
no other reason than this, and learn from this the greviousness of sin and 
the ineffable love of Jesus, which, with his bloody sweat, will blot out the 
guilt of our souls and inflame our hearts with love. Oh, because of the 
sadness of Jesus, open your eyes and hearts to know the evil you have 
done in committing sin, and for the love of Christ, who falls on his face > 
fall down upon your knees and bewail your sins with tears of sorrow. 

The prophet Isaias says : (49 : 1,4) " Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, 
re people from afar. I said ; I have labored in vain, in vain have I exhausted 
jny strength." When I represent to my mind the Son of God on Mount 



156 Lenten Sermons. 

Olivet, when I see his soul sorrowful unto death, his trembling lips move 
in prayer for sinners, and his blood flow to the ground, and when from 
this awe-inspiring spectacle I turn my eyes upon the world and behold the 
hearts of men so cold, so hardened, and insensible, it is to me as if I heard 
the Son of God call heaven and earth to be witnesses of his love and his 
blood. "Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. I said: 
I have labored in vain, in vain have I exhausted my strength. Of what 
use is the blood I am going to shed, when men will not purify their souls 
therein, when it will not induce them to renounce Satan, when they will 
not forsake their evil ways, but continue to sin ? Of what use is my blood, 
when they abuse my Sacraments, my doctrine, my grace and love ; when, 
in spite of my labor to rescue their souls from perdition, they rush head- 
long into hell ?" The thought that, notwithstanding his infinite love, so 
many souls would perish, was one of the chief tortures of the Lord in the 
garden of Olives. My brethren, do not merely say : Ah yes, there are 
many hardened sinners, many who go on the broad road of perdition. 
This would be an idle, useless reflection ; on the contrary, give heed to 
my admonitions. The Son of God speaks to each one of you individually: 
Of what use will my blood be to you, if you rise not from your sin, if you 
delay your conversion from day to day, from year to year, if you do not 
avoid the occasions of sin ? At the sight of your obdurate heart, the Lord 
.must exclaim : "I have labored for you in vain, in vain have I exhausted 
my strength." I wished to cleanse and purify you, I wished to save your 
soul, but you resisted my grace and inspirations. O, all ye who call your- 
selves disciples of Jesus, if the benefits of God seem to you too insignifi- 
cant, if the omnipotence of God has for you no power to arouse you from 
the sleep of sin, if heaven appears to you too insignificant a prize to con- 
tend for, and hell wears so fair an aspect that you choose the pathway 
which leads to its gates, if the curse of God on sin can not move you to 
renounce it, and if nothing else is able to touch and move you, Oh ! I be- 
seech you, let your hearts be softened by the blood of the Son of God. 
Through love for the blood which Christ shed abandon sin ; for love of 
that precious blood, give up your evil habits, that your merciful Redeemer 
may not be compelled to say : Woe ! woe ! for you, also, I have shed my 
blood in vain, in vain have I labored, in vain have I exhausted my 
strength. 

3. An angel descended from heaven to console Jesus in his agony. He 
was comforted and strengthened by the heavenly spirit, but his sorrow was 
not thereby diminished, but rather increased. What astonishment must have 
seized the angel of the Lord, on beholding the Son of God in such an 
agony approaching even to death, his whole body bathed in a bloody sweat. 
When holy Job, stricken by the hand of the Lord, and sitting on a dung- 
hill, broke out into bitter complaints because of his pains and misfortunes, 



Lenten Sermons. 157 

his friends came to comfort him ; but when they saw him, covering their 
faces, they dared not address the sufferer, but mourned with him for seven 
days and seven nights. Why should not the angel grow dumb, seeing the 
Son of God in agony, covered with blood, and lying on the ground ? The 
prophet Jeremiah wept when he saw the women of Jerusalem pale with 
hunger, but what should the angel say to the Son of God, whose face he 
saw covered with blood ? When Jacob saw the bloody, stained coat of 
Joseph, full of grief and sadness, he exclaimed : "This is my son's coat, 
grief will kill me, and I will go down into the grave." The angel came 
to comfort Jesus, a creature to comfort the Creator ! With what comfort 
could he strengthen and console the anguish of the Sacred Heart ? Pious 
souls, who have made the Passion of Christ their study, suppose the 
angel to have said : "O divine Redeemer of the world, I adore thee as my 
Lord and God. Thy heavenly Father wishes to see all the types and 
figures of the Old Law fulfilled on the day before Easter. This day the 
Church shall be formed of the tree of life of the New Testament, on the 
cross, out of thy opened side, as under the tree of paradise the mother of 
all the living was formed out of Adam's side. As innocent Abel was slain 
by his brother Cain out in the field, so thou shalt be slaughtered by the 
Jewish people, thy brethren, and chosen nation, outside of Jerusalem; like 
the patriarch Isaac, thou shalt be loaded with the wood of the Cross, be led 
to Mount Moria and offered to thy Father as a victim ; thou shalt be sold, 
like Joseph, and like a highway robber be declared guilty of death. As 
water came forth from the rock which Moses struck with his rod, so water 
and blood will issue from thy opened side, with the blood thou shalt redeem 
mankind, and with the water cleanse them from every stain ; thou wilt be 
exalted on the cross like the brazen serpent of Moses, and thou wilt restore 
to all who have been bitten by the serpent life and health, if they look up 
to thee. Like Samson, thou wilt lose thy life, but dying, thou wilt con- 
quer more enemies than during thy life. Like David, thou wilt wound 
unto death the giant on his forehead, and at the same time deliver mankind 
from the power oiits greatest enemy. Thou shalt raise thy cross as formerly 
thou didst set thy rainbow, as a sign of reconciliation and peace between 
heaven and earth, and, like the dove of Noe, bring to the true ark of the 
Church, that olive branch which loudly proclaims that there is peace, a 
holy, happy, heavenly, and eternal peace, established between God and 
man, between the Father and his children. Such is the will of thy heavenly 
Father. O Redeemer of mankind, the heavenly spirits long for this hour 
of fulfillment, the fathers in Limbo sigh for it, the whole world awaits it 
with an impatient desire, for it yearns to be released from the slavery of 
Satan and sin. Go, therefore, whither thy love leads thee, whither thy 
Father calls thee, whither the salvation of the world invites thee, accept the 
chalice, the sentence is irrevocable, the means painful, the end glorious, the 
price, thy blood, the recompense, the redemption of mankind, and thy eternal 



158 Lenten Sermons. 

victory. Thou must die on the cross, but dying thou wilt give life. Accept, 
then, the chalice which thy Father offers thee; it is expedient that thou 
drink it, for thereby thou reconcilest thy Father, redeemest the world, and 
sweetenest all the bitterness of this life." To this Jesus answered: "O 
Eternal Father, not my will, but thine be done. I am ready to do thy holy 
will, to drink the chalice; I am ready to die, that thy children may live." 

peroration. 

And he rises to enter on the bloody way of his Passion, to tread the way 
of the cross, to consummate the sacrifice. What sacrifice ? The sacrifice for 
the sins of the world. Oh ! turn your eyes once more upon the Victim, 
and learn what sin is; learn the infinite love of your Redeemer, who, to 
snatch you from hell's fearful torments, paid for your sins the price of his 
blood; learn, and strive to fathom the incomprehensible hardness of man, 
who, after all these sufferings, can yet offend so good and merciful a God. 
Penetrated with a lively faith, and full of sorrow and contrition for your 
past sins, with a resolution not to sin any more, cast yourselves at his feet 
and pray: Lord Jesus, Son of God, " have mercy on us, according to thy 
great mercy, and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out 
my iniquities." Amen. 



HOMILY III. 



JUDAS IN THE GARDEN, THE APPREHENSION OF CHRIST, ANNAS, THE BLOW, 

CAIPHAS. 

"0 all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my 

sorrow ; for he hath made a vintage of me, as the Lord spoke in the 

day of his fierce anger." — Lam. 1 : 12. 

1. The angel of light who descended to comfort Jesus in his agony had 
scarce returned to heaven, when the angel of darkness came to perform the 
mission of darkness. Judas, one of the twelve, who sold his Master now 
shows the way to those whom the Scribes and Pharisees had sent to ap- 
prehend Christ; he had promised to give them a sign, namely, to kiss the 
victim of his treason. "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is the man." What 
must have been the feelings of our Lord, when he saw his disciple lead on 



Lenten Sermons. 159 

his implacable foes. What excessive sorrow must have filled his soul, when 
•one of his chosen ones, one of those whom he loved, whom he had made 
bishops of his Church, and princes of his kingdom, when one of these sold 
him for the paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver, about eighteen dollars of 
our money. What pain must have pierced the heart of our Saviour when 
he saw his apostle fall into such a terrible abyss. Truly, this was a new 
sorrow for his soul. The earth had been bedewed with his bloody sweat, 
and heaven was witness that the Son of God, of his own free will, had re- 
solved to drink the bitter chalice which the world had prepared and his 
Father offered him. He was bound and dragged to death by a troop of 
ruffians, as if he would fain have escaped. To prove that he was dying 
voluntarily, and cut of love for us, he had foretold his Passion and death, 
and now he flees not before his enemies, but approaches them with courage, 
dignity, and majesty, first of all addressing Judas: "Friend, whereto art 
thou come." — Matt. 26: 50. As if he would say, was it necessary to come 
in such a manner, with such instruments, with robes, swords, and clubs. 
All this is needless, for I am willing to die. No other cords could be so 
strong as those by which I am already bound, the cords of love. Judas, 
approaching the Lord, saluted him: "Hail, Master, " an d^kissed him. The 
Lord replied: "Friend, why art thou come hither? Judas, why dost thou 
betray the Son of Man with a kiss ? " O, the mild, meek Jesus rejects not 
that wolf in sheep's clothing, that hypocrite who approaches him with a 
kiss, but offers his lips whereon truth sits enthroned to those of Judas, 
overflowing with venom and hate. But even this is an effect of his love 
and mercy. He would exhaust all means to soften that hardened heart. 
"Friend, why art thou come hither? Judas, why dost thou betray the 
Son of Man with a kiss ? " Who can behold Jesus, without sympathy and 
admiration ? He, the omniscient God, penetrates with his all-piercing eye 
to the deepest recesses of that wicked, godless heart, and yet he calls him 
friend. He is the holy, spotless Lamb of God, to whom the sight of in- 
iquity is abhorrent, yet he refrains from addressing that black heart with 
well-merited words of reproach. He threatens him not with his anger; he 
hurls not at him the destroying thunderbolt of his justice, no, for this day 
is not a day of justice and wrath, but of mercy and love; for this reason he 
asks him: "Friend, why art thou come hither ? " As if he would say: 
Judas, my friend, behold, how unjustly you act in making yourself the in- 
strument of so heinous a crime? Have you forgotten my friendship, my 
love, and the benefits I lavished upon you ? Have you forgotten that I am 
the Son of God ? Judas, dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss ? 
What cruelty to betray the Son of Man with that sacred sign of friendship 
and love. 

But alas ! the Lord bestows the priceless gift of his love, in vain, and all 
■vainly does he strive to win him by the sweet name of friend. In vain he 



160 Lenten Sermons. 

reminds him of his sin, in vain he calls him familiarly by his own name, 
Judas; Satan has already taken possession of his soul, the prince of dark- 
ness dwells in his heart and clutches it so tightly in his terrible grasp, that 
the gracious voice of mercy and love cannot pierce the coat of mail that 
surrounds it. St. Chrysostom says: The Lord called Judas by his name 
because he mourned over him and wished not to punish him, but to recall 
him from his evil way, for he did not say: Why dost thou betray thy Lord 
and Master, the God ? but, why dost thou betray the Son of Man, namely, 
him who is meek and humble of heart, him who did not deserve to be be- 
trayed were he even not your Lord and God. You betray the Son of Man 
who for the salvation of men and your own, descended from heaven upon 
earth. O Judas, if you come as my enemy, why do you salute me? why 
do you kiss me ? and if you come as my friend, why do you betray me ? 

Judas was the first that touched the blood of Jesus Christ; the precious 
drops which trickled down his face, were not yet dried when Judas, with 
his sacrilegious lips, kissed him. But even the blood of Christ failed to 
bring one throb of pity to that sinner's heart. Oh! when the demons of 
hell gain the mastery over a heart, its hardness becomes fearful, and the 
blindness in which the wretched soul gropes does not admit one ray of 
light. Judas is a terrible example in this regard. He forgot the love and 
benefits of his Master, the sinner too casts off all sense of gratitude for the 
love and benefits of God. Judas forgot the holy doctrines and the glorious 
miracles of his Master, the sinner closes his ears to the word of God. Judas 
forgot his dignity, vocation and election, and where is the sinner who re-' 
members his dignity, as one whom God has received into the number of 
his friends, as one whose soul is destined for salvation, for a happy eternity. 
Ah ! when the prince of darkness has made of a man's heart his dwelling 
place he becomes another Judas, a betrayer of his God and Redeemer, a 
betrayer of the sacred blood of Jesus, of his own soul and salvation. The 
more grace is offered the less he perceives it, the nearer Christ is to him, the 
greater stranger is his Saviour to him. Behold in Judas the blindness of 
the sinner ! To commit a mortal sin is to betray God. Friend, why art 
thou come hither ? is the question which Christ asks Judas, and which he 
asks every one of us. Behold, Christian, you are his friend, he has im- 
printed on your soul the seal of his friendship, in the Sacrament of Bap- 
tism, he has received you into the number of his elect, he has destined 
you to participate in his happiness, he has enriched you with his graces 
and nourished you with the heavenly manna, behold, the benefits with 
which God has enriched you ! and he asks you : Friend, why art thou 
come hither ? Have you come to commit sin ? Will you betray your 
soul ? Will you cast off my sweet yoke and once more range yourself 
under the banner of Satan ? O Christians, answer these questions, and 
rejoice if you can say : Lord, I have never deserted thy standard, never 



Lenten Sermons. 161 

betrayed thee, and I shall never betray thee. But if you cannot say this, 
fall, at least, on your knees with the penitent prayer: "Many times have I 
deserted thee and betrayed thee to sin, but O Lord, I return to thee, I be- 
wail my sins, my infidelity, my treason from the very depths of my heart, 
and I firmly promise, with thy holy grace, never more to desert and be- 
tray thee." 

2. After the treacherous kiss had accomplished the base purpose, Jesus, the 
betrayed victim of Judas, moved towards the troop of soldiers, to show 
that he was delivering himself voluntarily and that nothing on earth could 
have power over him if he did not so will it. He asked the soldiers : 
"Whom seek ye?" They answered: "Jesus of Nazareth." He said : 
"I am he," and immediately "they went backward and fell to the 
ground." — John 18 : 6. The Lord said : "lam he,"and his word strikes 
the wicked crowd to the ground. Jesus had, as it were, only breathed 
upon them, and the breath of his Divinity would have blasted them had 
he not immediately concealed it. O ! terrible will that day surely be 
when he shall come in the full splendor of his power and majesty to judge, 
when he thus manifests his power, when he goes to be judged! What will he 
do when reigning in heaven, when he does such things when about to die on 
earth P With what weapon does the Lord strike his enemies ? With his 
word only ; he speaks and the mountains tremble. What power is there 
in these little words : lam he. A vast army of " strong men armed" has 
less strength. Gaze upon the majestic countenance of the speaker and 
learn the power of these words, I am he. I am he whose garment is om- 
nipotence, I am he who is eternal, who has neither beginning nor end, the 
only-begotten of the Father, aud equal to him. I am he, your Lord and 
your God. "I am who I am." Omnipotence speaks, dust trembles; 
the Creator speaks, the creature recoils ; God speaks, his enemies are con- 
founded. 

What will ht do when he shall come to judge, when he does such things. 
when he goes to be judged? Let us be candid and sincere. Let us 
reason like men of common sense. Either there is an eternity, or we 
have been constantly deceived or deluded. If there is an eternity, there 
is a God, and if there is a God, there will be a retribution. But if 
there is no eternity, no God, no retribution, then preaching should be 
cast aside as a folly, then truth finds no place in our hearts, 
We may leave the Church, we need no longer confine ourselves 
within such narrow limits to participate in all possible pleasures, 
every moment that is not enjoyed is an irreparable loss, for the hours 
to the grave are whirling on with incredible speed. We live onlj r 
once, and after this life we shall be as if we had not been. But if there is an 
eternity, a God, and a retribution, what will take place when the Almighty 



162 Lenten Sermons. 

-with fire in his eyes and anger in his countenance shall say to his enemies : / 
am he. Impiety in our days treads the way of darkness, uses the weapons of 
darkness, and the arrows of sin, in order to extinguish the light of faith upon 
earth, but what will take place when the Lord shall rise in judgment and 
say : I am the Lord, your God ? He will send all those who love dark- 
ness to hell. What way do you walk ? Whom do you seek ? Is it Jesus 
of Nazareth, and him alone ? If so, why do you stand on the side of his 
enemies ? Hear what Christ says : I am the Lord, your God, why do you 
persecute me ? I am your Lawgiver, why do you rebel against me ? I 
am your Creator, Benefactor, and Redeemer, why are you my enemy, for 
"he that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me 
scattereth." If you wish to be a friend and disciple of Christ, come forth 
from the enemies' camp, return from your evil ways, for woe, eternal woe, 
when he shall say to his enemies on the day of judgment : I am he. They 
shall fall to the ground, never to rise again! 

When the terrible effects of their fright had partially passed away Jesus 
asked them again : "Whom seek ye," and having received the same 
answer, he said to them : "If you seek me, let these go their way." By 
these words, he saved the life and liberty of his disciples. Then he said : 
"You are come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to appre- 
hend me. I sat daily with you teaching in the temple : and you laid not 
hands on me." — Matt. 26 : 55. Then he delivered himself into their 
hands : "They took Jesus, and bound him." — John 18 : 12. He makes 
no resistance, he says no more : I am he ; he keeps silence and patiently 
endures all as if all strength had left him like Samson when Delila had cut 
his hair and cried out : Samson, the Philistines are upon thee. The work 
of darkness is accomplished, the victim is bound, and his captors are guard- 
ing him well. Judas, thou fallen apostle, betrayer of thy Lord and God, 
behold, he stands before thee like a criminal. Judas, thou hast given the 
advice to apprehend him, to bind him, and to conduct him safely, behold 
the culmination of thy diabolical malice. Judas, rejoice at thy success, 
rejoice at thy treason, count thy money, the price of blood, the noble cap- 
tive is well worth thirty pieces of silver. But let us leave that child of 
perdition to his master, the devil, at whose instigation he committed that 
wicked deed, for "the devil gave it into his heart to betray Jesus." 

3, The Son of God is brought into the city handcuffed. Oh, how the 
faces of his enemies must have been irradiated with sinister joy. Oh what 
must have been his sufferings on this painful journey, when, like a 
highwayman, he was conducted through the principal streets of Jerusalem ! 
They stopped at the house of Annas who had been high-priest the year 
before. He asked Jesus of his doctrines and disciples, but our divine 
Xord made no answer concerning his disciples for they had fled. In re- 



Lenten Sermons. 163 

gard to his doctrines, he said: "I have spoken openly to the world : I 
have always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither all the 
Jews resort, and in private I have spoken nothing. Why askest thou me? 
Ask them who have heard what I have spoken to them ; behold, they 
know what things I have said." — John 18 : 20. And one of the soldiers 
standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying : ' ' Answerest thou thou the high- 
priest so ? " I tremble with indignation when I consider that the Creator 
receives a blow from his creature. No more scathing insult can be offered 
to a respectable man than to strike him in the face, and one thus offended 
will resent the insult with the sword, his blood, and his life. We can 
scarcely conceive then the extent of the insult here offered to Jesus. 
Should a subject treat his sovereign in such a manner, he would pay the 
penalty with his life. What then is due him who strikes the King of kings 
in the face ? Jeremiah exclaims : Be astonished, O ye heavens, for the 
majesty of your God is violated, innocence is struck in the face. Oh ! my 
Redeemer, why do you suffer this ignominy ? Why does not that arm 
wither which raises itself against you, and dares to strike your holy face ? 
Oh the incomprehensible magnanimity of Christ has no other chastisement 
for this cruel treatment than the question of love : "Why strikest thou 
me ?" 

As page after page of the history of the Passion opens before us, we do 
not find that any complaint ever issued from our persecuted Lord. He 
was scourged and he complained not ; the thorns wounded his head and 
he said nothing ; the nails perforated his hands and feet and he kept 
silence ; but when he received that blow he remonstrated, saying : "Why 
do you strike me ?" And why did he complain on this occasion ? Be- 
cause in this blow was contained an infinity of malice. Which must 
astonish us more, the wickedness of the soldier, or the love of Jesus? I 
believe he asked not in vain : Why strikest thou me ? His motive was to 
confound and move the wretch to repentance, as well as to confound and 
move to repentance those who, like that wicked soldier, strike their Re- 
deemer in the face. Yes, Christ is struck in the face by every Christian 
who commits a grievous sin. Oh Christians, hear the Son of God com- 
plain : Son, daughter, behold, I teach daily from the pulpits, that you 
should lead a Christian life, that you should not love the world and the 
things of the world, that you should mortify your flesh, resist your inordi- 
nate desires ; and you obey me not, but by your sinful passions and 
inclinations, you strike me in the face and reject my holy doctrines. Be- 
hold, I teach : he that wishes to be my disciple let him deny himself, take 
up his cross and follow me, but you say : "Come let us enjoy the things 
that are present. " — Wisd. 2:6. O. Christian, answerest thou the high- 
priest so ? Behold, I teach openly to the world : "Blessed are the clean 
of heart for they shall see God,'' but you say : Life is fleeting, time is short, 



164 Lenten Sermons. 

man must enjoy of it as much as he can. Answerest thou the high-priest: 
so? Behold I teach openly to the world : "Unless you do penance, you 
shall all likewise perish." But you say : "Let us crown ourselves with 
roses before they are withered, let none of us go without his part in luxury, 
let us everywhere leave tokens of joy, for this is our portion, this is our 
lot" — Wisd. 2:8,9. Answerest thou the high-priest so ? You hear my 
voice, you know my doctrine, but you raise your hand against me, like 
that cruel soldier. Why do you strike me ? What evil have I done to 
you? Have I offended you? Behold, I have sacrificed my life for you, I 
have created you for an eternity of bliss, I have sought you during my 
whole life upon earth, I have redeemed you with my blood and opened for 
you the portals of heaven, What evil have I done ? If I have done no 
evil, why do you strike me ? We are justly enraged at the cruelty of this 
wicked soldier who struck the Redeemer in the face, but let us rather 
turn our indignation against ourselves who strike Jesus in the face by our 
sins. 

4. When A^nas had derided Jesus to the full extent of his malicious will 
and found no fault in him, he sent him to Caiphas, his son-in-law, who 
was high-priest that year. The Saviour was led into the inner court. Here 
the high-priest was sitting on a throne surrounded by the ancients of 
the people, the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus stands handcuffed before him. 
Witnesses are brought in to bear testimony against him. They say : " He 
cast out devils by BeelzebuK the prince of devils, he violated the Sabbath, 
he broke the fast, he does not allow his disciples to wash their hands before 
meals, he calls the Pharisees wolves in sheep's clothing, associates with 
sinners and publicans, introduces a new doctrine, says that his flesh is 
iaeat and his blood drink, that no one, unless he eat his flesh, and drink 
his blood, shall be saved, he asserts that he is older than Abraham, and 
that he is one with the Father." But the witnesses contradicted one an- 
other and even their malice could aHege nothing that could doom him to 
death. And last of all there came in two false witnesses and they said : 
This man said : I am able to destroy the temple of God, and in three days 
to rebuild it. And the high-priest rising up, said to him : Answerest thou 
nothing to the things which these witness against thee ? Jesus held his 
peace. — Matt. 26. It is a natural right to defend one's self. Why does 
he not.assert and prove his innocence ? He needs no defense, the wit- 
nesses have contradicted one another. Full of indignation the high-priest 
rises from his seat, the witnesses move back, the eyes of all are turned upon 
him, profound silence reigns throughout the hall. All are in suspense and 
expectation. And Caiphas, vested in his high-priestly vestments, raises his 
right hand to heaven, and says with a loud voice : "I adjure thee by the 
living God, that thou tell us if thou be the Christ, the Son of God." That 
is, I the high-priest, am the voice of God on earth. By virtue of this office 



Lenten Sermons. 165 

with which I am invested by God, whom I call to witness what you say, I 
command and adjure you, that you tell us if you be the Christ, the Son of 
God. Jesus answered : " Thou hast said it. Nevertheless I say to you : 
Hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the 
power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven." The high-priest 
rent his garments, saying : He has blasphemed ; what further need have 
we of witnesses ? The trial is over, the crime proved, what think you, 
what is your opinion, O ancients of Israel. And they answering, said : 
"He is guilty of death.'' Oh heavenly Father, Eternal God, thou hast 
been called as witness, and hast confirmed the truth that Jesus Christ is 
.truly thy Son. Hear it, Caiphas, the living God bears testimony against 
you, he declares to you from Mount Thabor : "This is my beloved Son, 
in whom I am well pleased." Lazarus, the son of the widow, and the 
daughter of the Ruler, bear testimony against you. He made the blind 
see, the deaf hear, the lame walk — all bear testimony against you. Wicked 
judge, the wind and storm, land and sea, men and beasts, heaven and 
earth, Angels and devils, rise up in testimony against you. Call these as 
witnesses, and with a unanimous voice they will proclaim his Divinity and 
say : Jesus of Nazareth is truly the Son of God. O ! wretched judge, you 
have blasphemed and not Christ, you are guilty of death not Christ, be- 
cause you have sinned against the Son of the Most High God and against 
the Holy Ghost. 

PERORATION. 

Oh adorable Jesus, we confess and are ready to seal our confession with 
our blood, that thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. What igno- 
miny, what disgrace for the Son of God to appear before judges who are 
at the same time his accusers, who, contrary to law and justice say : He is 
guilty of death ! What is his crime ? Why must he die ? Ah, it is the 
judgment of the Father. Christ must suffer death that sinners may live. 
It is for our sins that Jesus dies. Ah, cry out from the inmost recesses of 
jour heart, with sorrow and contrition for your sins, Oh Jesus, Lord and 
.Saviour, thou art innocent, thou shalt not die, but live, sin shall die in us, 
yes, grace shall destroy sin in our hearts, that Jesus may live and reign 
therein now and for ever. Amen. 



1 66 Lenten Sermons. 



HOMILY IV. 



THE INTERIOR SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, THE DENIAL OF PETER, PILATE, THE 
DESPAIR OF JUDAS, HEROD, BARABBAS. 

" O, all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my 

sorrow; for he hath made a vintage of me, as the Lord spoke in 

the day of his fierce anger. " — Lam. 1 : 12. 

1. The high-priest and the judges had retired to rest that they might finish 
their cruel work on the following morning. Christ remained in the hands 
of the soldiers. The Evangelists do not tell us all he suffered during that 
terrible night, they mention only a few incidents : they spat in his face and 
buffeted him; others struck his face with the palms of their hands, saying: 
" Prophesy unto us, Christ, who is it that struck thee?" Of what value our 
souls must be in the sight of God, who, to save them endured such dis- 
grace ! Where is our gratitude, where our love toward our suffering Re- 
deemer ? Nothing wounded our Lord more deeply than the denial of 
Peter. Peter had solemnly promised and sworn : "Though I should die 
with thee, I will not deny thee." When Christ was apprehended in the gar- 
den, his disciples all fled ; Peter alone followed, but from afar. Oh, that 
he had fled with the rest, then surely he would have been saved from his 
terrible fall. While he stood with the soldiers at the fire, a servant said to 
him : "Art thou not also one of this man's disciples." And he answered: 
I am not. O Peter, are you ashamed of your Lord ? Are you afraid to 
profess Jesus before a menial ? W^hat is this ? You tremble before a serv- 
ant, at the question of a maid you deny that you are a disciple of Christ ? 
Have you not left all to follow him ? Have you not confessed him to be 
the Son of , the living God? Have you not said: "Lord, I shall never 
leave thee, for to whom shall we go, thou alone hast the words of eternal 
life. And now, chosen disciple, Prince of the Apostles, you shrink from 
confessing your Lord and Master before a menial ? you tell a lie, saying : 
"I am not," Perhaps that servant addressed him too harshly? By no 
means. She said not : art thou not also a disciple of that blasphemous 
teacher, but said: " of this man," as if she were commiserating him. 
She speaks of Christ not with bitterness and contempt, but with a feeling 
of compassion, as if she would say : Ah, how much does this man, whom 
they call Christ, suffer, how they abuse and maltreat him ! Art thou not 



Lenten Sermons. 167 

also one of his disciples ? She says : Art thou not also one, because St. 
John, whom she knew to be one of his disciples, and at whose request 
she admitted Peter was close by. Art thou not also on e of this man's dis- 
ciples, as St. John is ? Peter tells a lie the second time to another servant,. 
and a third time before soldiers, who asked him the same question. 
These successive questions so intensified his confusion that cursing and 
swearing he says: I know not this man, I know not what you say. 

These curses, lies and imprecations fell upon the ear of Christ who 
turned his eyes towards his faithless apostle. Their glance said : Peter,, 
where is the promise you made in so solemn a manner at the last supper. 
I have made you the rock, the foundation of my Church. You hold from 
me the keys of my kingdom, I have made you my vicar on earth, and 
behold, you are ashamed of me, you deny me. You say that you do not 
know me ? How will you profess my name before the princes of the 
earth, when you deny me before a menial, when before soldiers you affirm 
upon an oath : "I know not the man." Christians permit me to ask you 
one question : Are yon not also one of this man's disciples P I am sur^ 
you will not say with Peter : "I am not," for by Baptism you have been 
made one of their number. But tell me, why do you forget the covenant 
which you have made with your Redeemer ? You have solemnly pro- 
mised to renounce the devil and all his works and pomps, but listen to the 
voice of conscience which reminds you of your sins and reproaches you 
with your infidelity. Do you realize what you have done ? You have 
said with Peter : I know not the man. Are you not also one of this mans 
disciples P Yes, but tell me, why do you heed the voice of the tempter 
and stifle the admonitions of your conscience ? Behold, you say with 
Peter: "I know not the man." Are you not also one of this maris 
disciples P Yes, but why do you forget the love of your Redeemer, who 
became man for you, who prayed, suffered, and died for your salvation ? 
Why do you seek your chief joy in creatures, and not in the Creator ? 
How is it possible that, believing what you believe, you can forget the love 
of Jesus and afflict his heart by sin ? Each one of your sins cries out 
with Peter : "I know not the man." Not to know him is not to know 
your friend, not to know your benefactor, not to know your Lord and 
God. Oh, let us renew our promise, let us again renounce the devil with 
all his works and pomps, let us say to them : Begone, Satan, and let our 
constant and universal practice be to confess by word and deed, that we 
know this man, Christ Jesus. 

The cock crows, the Lord turns round and looks at Peter, over whom 
rushes the memory of what his Master had said: "Amen, I say to thee, 
that in this night before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice." And 
going out he wept bitterly. Let this prompt repentance of Peter teach us to 



1 68 Lenten Sermons. 

bewail our sins. Peter sinned, but out of weakness and by surprise; he did 
not persevere in sin, but speedily returned to the way of salvation, he fled 
from the place which had alas ! proved so fatal, left the wicked company 
into which he had come, and hastened where, apart from the crowd, he 
cou'ld give full vent to his grief and remorse, to wash away his sins by tears 
of love, and going out he wept bitterly. Behold, O Christian, your soul 
is perhaps for years, yes even from the time of childhood, defiled by sin, 
sin has become to you a second nature, it may be that the day does not 
dawn upon which you do not deny your Lord and God. But where is 
your repentance ? Where is your flight from sinful company and the proxi- 
mate occasions of sin ? Where is your sorrow ? Where are your tears ? 
Alas, you scarcely understand and feel what sin really means, you act as 
if it were nothing, you continue to associate with your companions of sin, 
to frequent the place of your fall, and you go so far as to commit new sins 
instead of bewailing those of your past life. O unfortunate sinner, what 
will become of you ? Peter received pardon, because he wept bitter tears 
of repentance, how can you expect forgiveness when you will not shed one 
penitential tear ? Your state is truly deplorable. 

2. The sun had scarce begun to gild the eastern hills, when the members of 
the council reassembled and summoning their Divine Victim asked him, if 
he were Christ the Son of God. Receiving the same answer the same sen- 
tence is pronounced: "He is guilty of death. " Then he is conducted to 
Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, that he might ratify the sen- 
tence of death, in order that Jesus might be executed. Pilate begins the 
trial by asking the accusers: "What accusation bring you against this 
man?" They answer: "If he were not a malefactor we would not have 
delivered him up to thee." As judge, Pilate could pronounce no sentence 
upon this general accusation, he desired to be informed as to what crime 
Christ had committed. As the Jews had violated truth before the spiritual 
court of Caiphas, so they repeat their false testimony at the temporal 
court of Pilate. Knowing well, however, that before this tribunal 
accusations concerning religion would avail nothing, they cunningly 
devised something new, Pilate was a pagan and cared little for religion, 
therefore they changed their accusation and made Christ apolitical culprit, 
a demagogue, a rebel, saying: "We have found this man perverting our 
nation and forbidding to give tribute Csesar and saying that he is Christ the 
king." Pilate was astonished that to all these accusations, Christ answered 
not a word and did not defend himself. Christians, behold what contume- 
lies are uttered against your Saviour, but with divine patience he suffers it 
all. Jesus, to whom the highest honor is due in heaven and on earth, 
endures all for your sake, and you who deserve all for your sins, resent with 
anger the least appearance of neglect, your blood boils and you meditate 
revenge when others speak ill of you. 



Lenten Sermons. i6y 

3. During the progress of the trial a new wound pierced the most sacred 
"heart of our Lord. St. Matthew relates: Judas, who had betrayed him, seeing 
that he was condemned, repenting himself brought back the thirty pieces 
of silver to the chief-priests and ancients, saying: I have sinned in betray- 
ing innocent blood. The Evangelist says well : Then Judas seeing. Was 
he blind before ? Not in body, but in spirit,, like unto those of whom 
Sophonias says : ''They who sin against the Lord walk like the blind." 
The eyes of Judas were opened and he saw his crime. When the devil 
lures man on to sin he darkens his vision, that, like one deprived of sight, 
he may not perceive the enormity of sin, but when he has yielded to the 
tempter he opens the sinner's eyes, that he may be overwhelmed with de- 
spair. This was the case with Judas ; he despaired, went out, and hanged 
himself with a halter. When Christ at his last supper said : " One of you 
shall betray me," the Evangelist adds : " He was troubled in spirit," he was 
troubled in spirit not for his own sake, but for the near perdition of Judas. 
When David received the terrible news that his son Absalom, suspended 
by his hair on a tree, had been killed by three lances he was troubled and 
wept, and in the bitterness of his soul wandered about mourning and say- 
ing : "My son, Absalom, Absalom, my son, who would grant me, that I 
might die for thee. " When he heard that Saul had taken his own life on 
Mount Gelboe, he wept bitterly and bewailed his death. But why did 
David weep over his criminal son Absalom whom the just punishment of 
God had overtaken ? Why did he grieve for the suicide of Saul ? He 
wept and mourned for both because they had died in their sins. How much 
greater must have been the grief of the Holy of Holies at the despair of 
Judas, for whose salvation he had done so much ? Indeed, the wicked 
end of Judas grieved him more than all his other sufferings. 

Let us pause for a moment beneath that tree on which Judas hangs, 
whilst we ask : who is it that hangs here dead by suicide ? One of the 
twelve, one of the chosen ones. There is no security on earth, since Judas 
was lost in the school of Jesus Christ. Oh, that his sad fate might inspire 
us with a holy fear. Oh, that of us may never be uttered those awful 
words : one of them a traitor and damned. But shall we all be saved ? 
shall none perish ? will there not be a child of perdition among us ? I 
know not, such knowledge is given to God alone. But thus far I know : 
if we do not do penance for our sins, if we do not abandon our sinful 
ways, if we persevere in lukewarmness and indifference, more than one 
out of twelve will perish. 

4. Pilate, perceiving that the Jews had delivered Jesus up out of envy and 
that he was perfectly innocent, sent him to Herod who was a Galilean. 
Herod who had for a long time been desirous of seeing Jesus, eagerly 
availed himself of this first opportunity, for the story of his marvelous deeds 



170 Lenten Sermons. 

had reached his ears, and he hoped that now he would see some miracle 
wrought by him. Herod awarded him no higher rank than that of a 
strolling magician, and overwhelmed him with questions: Are you not the 
same who deceived my father when he ordered the children of Bethlehem 
to be slain ? How did you succeed in evading his wrath? Are you not 
he of whom it is related that wise men from the East visited and laid rare 
offerings before you ? Are you not he of whom John the Baptist spoke so 
much ? Are you not he of whom it is related that he made the blind see, 
the lame walk, and raised Lazarus and the widow's son to life? If so,, 
give some manifestation of your power, work some miracles, change water 
into wine, or stones into bread that I may see them. Suppose Jesus had 
performed miracles before the very eyes of Herod, would he have believed 
in him ? No, Christ, therefore, remained silent, answering not a single 
question. This silence exasperated Herod, he and his soldiers despised 
and mocked our Saviour, and putting on him a white garment, sent him 
back, declaring him to be a fool ! 

Our divine Redeemer suffered himself to be treated by Herod as a fool, 
that he might confound the folly of men who for the love of earth, lose 
heaven. The white garment with which he was clothed, how many mys- 
teries does it not contain ! Adam had lost two garments in paradise, the 
garment of innocence which is white, and the garment of immortality which 
is purple. That both might be restored to man, the love of the heavenly 
Father wished that his beloved Son should assume the white garment in 
the court of Herod, and the purple garment in the tribunal of Pilate — 
pause a moment and reflect. Behold, Herod rejoiced when he saw Jesus, 
in whom he did not believe ; and you offend him in whom you believe. 
You also have heard much of Christ and his holy doctrine, but have you 
imitated his holy example ? With what eagerness do you not seek the 
pleasures of the world, with what carelessness do you not exchange the 
treasures of heavenly wisdom for the wretchedness of worldly wisdom. But 
my brethren, there is an hour in our life, when all illusion vanishes, when 
the world no longer dazzles, when gold no longer glitters, when the tempt- 
ing cup no longer invites, when beauty and youth lose their charms, and 
this is the hour of our death. Then repentance or innocence will alone 
be of value, then that wisdom which the world rejects will be of worth. 
Therefore let us learn of our Redeemer to be fools among men, that in our 
dying hour we may be found truly wise in Christ. 

5. Pilate was convinced that Christ was innocent, and that envy alone had 
instigated the Jews in their cruel persecution. A feeling of sympathy seizes 
him and he conceives the idea of setting him free. To accomplish his 
design he makes use of a means which was an ordinary custom among the 
Jews. It is your privilege, said he to the Jews, on the festival of the pasch 



Lenten Sermons. 171 

to liberate one prisoner. You know we have in prison the notorious 
Barabbas whose name alone spreads fear and terror throughout the land. 
Whom will you that I release unto you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called 
Christ ? Pilate placed a malefactor, a murderer in the same category with 
Jesus, convinced that they would choose Jesus. He could not believe that 
even their malice would reach the height of preferring Barabbas to Jesus, 
but he was greatly mistaken, for in their rage and blindness, they would 
have set free all the malefactors of the world rather than Jesus. How 
painful must have been this comparison to the Lord? And indeed he was 
not only compared to a malefactor, but placed below him. My brethren, 
if it were painful to Christ to be ranked below Barabbas by the Jews, it 
must be more painful to him to be despised by those who pretend to be 
his disciples, to such a degree that they put him not only below Barabbas 
but below the very devil himself. There is a war between Christ and the 
devil. Each wishes to possess you. The devil is planning the ruin and 
damnation of your souls, for he goes about like a roaring lion seeking 
whom he may devour ; Christ wishes to possess your souls, to save them 
for eternal life. Now, to whom do you wish to belong ? To the devil or 
to Christ? I hear you say: We give ourselves to Christ, we will follow 
and serve him. But do you not prefer Barabbas to Jesus when you com- 
mit a mortal sin ? As much as is in your power you wish the life of the 
creature and the death of your Saviour in your heart. Christ recommends 
to you humility, meekness, love, peace, and every virtue. Satan, on the- 
contrary, suggests pride, anger, revenge, hatred, and every vice, and as 
often as you sin you cry with the Jews : Give us Barabbas. Which pre- 
vails ? the spirit, or the flesh ; concupiscence or reason ; heaven or earth ; 
Christ, or the devil. Examine your conscience and you will find that you. 
frequently say : Give us Barabbas. 

PERORATION. 

Oh, bend your knees before that Jesus whom you have so oftenfcruci- 
fied by your sins, and cry out : It is I, Lord, who have despised thee, I 
am the miserable and ungrateful sinner who have listened to the sugges- 
tions of the devil, I have chosen to be his servant rather than a child of 
God. Merciful Redeemer, look down upon us with eyes of mercy, 
pardon our past offences. We choose thee for our leader and guide,, 
thou shalt be our portion and inheritance for time and eternity. Amen. 



!7 2 Lenten Sermons. 



HOMILY V. 



THE SCOURGING, THE CROWNING WITH THORNS, AND THE DERISION. 

11 O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to 

my sorrow ; for he hath made a vintage of me, as the Lord 

spoke in the day of his fierce anger " — Lam. i : 12. 

Barabbas had been released at the request of the populace. Pilate had 
again and again loudly reiterated that Jesus was innocent of the crimes, 
alleged against him. He says again: "You have brought this man to 
me, as one that perverteth the people : and behold, I, having examined 
him before you, find no cause in this man touching those things wherein 
you accuse him ; no,' nor yet Herod," (Luke 23 : 14, 15) ; yet the fury of 
the Jews gained the ascendency. Pilate lacked the determination re- 
quisite to refuse their unjust demands, and sentenced Christ to an igno- 
minious punishment, as if he had really found him guilty. "Then, 
therefore, Pilate took Jesus and scourged him." — John 19: 1. "I will 
chastise him, therefore, and release him." — Luke 23 : 16. 

1. Scourging was a punishment which the ingenuity of the Romans had 
specially marked out for their slaves ; it was, in fact, the most agonizing 
torture that could be inflicted upon a malefactor ; and was almost equal 
to capital punishment, for many who were sentenced to be scourged, ex- 
pired in the hands of the torturers. Perhaps our Saviour, whose innocence 
Pilate had solemnly declared, will protest against such an unjust and cruel 
punishment. Perhaps he will not recognize this unjust court but appeal 
to a higher tribunal, wherein he may find justice. To whom can he 
;appeal? Is not Pilate the representative of the Roman emperor, the 
highest judiciary in the land ? But Pilate, forgetful of the duties of a 
judge, bade them scourge him, of whose innocence he was convinced and in 
whom he could find no cause. Is Christ to appeal, as St. Paul did, from 
(the governor to the Roman emperor himself in Rome? He has no right 
ito do this not being a Roman citizen. Why does he not appeal to the 
ihighest spiritual court in the land, the high-priest ? The high-priest, on 
the testimony of false witnesses, had already judged him guilty of death. 
Can he not appeal to his own people, who had been the recipients of his 
benefits, and who had been witnesses of his miracles and of his inno- 
cence ? His own people had rejected him and set him aside for one 
whose soul was steeped in the blackest of guilt. Why does he not appeal 



Lenten Sermons. 173: 

to his heavenly Father, the God of justice, who rewards the good and 
punishes the wicked. O ! surely he, at last, will gladly rise to protect his 
innocent Son and ward off the tortures decreed for him ? No, the Father 
bade him drain the bitter chalice to the dregs, his love and mercy for sin- 
ners had decreed that the body of his Son should be torn by scourges. 
Men eagerly hasten to protect the criminal, but Jesus finds none to take 
his part Heaven and earth have forsaken him. What will he do ? With 
one effort of his omnipotence, will he not burst asunder the cords with which 
he is bound, like another Samson, and make of them a scourge to drive 
away his executioners, as he once banished from the temple the buyers 
and sellers, because they had made the house of prayer a den of thieves ? 
No, Jesus is the obedient Son of God, who does the will of the Father, 
saying: "Father, not my will, but thine, be done." And thus humbly 
and without a murmur he submits to the order of divine justice, saying 
with meek obedience : O my Father, I am ready to receive the scourge 
from whatever hand thou art pleased to ordain. 

Scarce had the soldiers heard the command of Pilate, than with rude 
haste they tore the clothing from Jesus to begin the cruel scourging. 
Jacob, the patriarch, gave Joseph a coat of many colors, because he loved 
him, but his brothers, envying him, took his coat and sold him to the 
Ismaelites. It pained Joseph to see himself deprived of the coat, which 
he had received from his loving father, but what grief must it have caused 
the Son of God, to see himself stripped of his garments while the rabble 
gazed curiously at the sight. But his denudation contains a profound 
mystery of wisdom, love, and mercy of the Lord towards us sinners. 
True, the God of all justice and purity could have stricken those blas- 
phemers with blindness, as he formerly did the licentious inhabitants 
of Sodom, who were given to uncleanness and were about to abuse the 
guests of Lot ; but our Saviour submitted to this confusion, because 
Adam had stripped himself and his posterity of the garment of innocence ;: 
the Lord submitted to this confusion, because so many Christians strip^ 
themselves of the garment of grace and pass years, yes, too often their 
whole lives in this nakedness ; the Lord submitted to this confusion, be- 
cause he wished to atone for those unspeakable sins of shamelessness by 
which his children lose the garment of innocence, Ah, how many could 
we address with these words of the Sacred Scripture : "Thousayest: I 
am rich and made wealthy, and I have need of nothing, but thou knowest 
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and naked, and 
blind," for your elegant apparel serves only to cover a soul and body that 
are stripped of all virtue. When Adam by sin had lost the garment of 
sanctity and justice, of innocence and grace, so intense was his confusion 
that he hid himself, and when God called him, he said : " I heard thy 
voice in paradise, and I was afraid, because I was naked,'' as if he would 



174 Lenten Sermons. 

say : O, God of holiness and justice, my whole being trembles in thy 
presence, because I have lost that garment of sanctity and grace, which would 
make me worthy of appearing before thy eyes; I have become naked by sin. 
And yet Christians who have become adorned by him in Baptism with the 
garment of innocence are not ashamed to trail its whiteness through the 
mire of sin, and appear before the all-seeing eye of their divine Judge in 
the miserable nakedness of their souls. O, lift up your eyes to your Re- 
deemer and be witnesses of his anguish when thus exposed naked to the 
gaze of a rude soldiery, and tell me : Are you still clothed with that 
precious garment with which his love clothed # you, or have you cast it 
from you by sin. If you are naked, that is, in the state of sin, oh, clothe 
yourself, at least, with the garment of penance, bewail your misfortune and 
jour sins, otherwise the eye of Jesus offended by your nakedness, will 
turn in anger away. If you cannot appear before the Lord in the gar- 
ment of innocence, appear before him in the garment of penance lest you 
find not mercy but justice at his hands. 

2. When God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, he 
bound him, before he laid him on the altar. Isaac bound is a figure of 
Christ, who was bound not so much by the soldiers as by his Eternal 
Father, who not sparing his Son, but delivering him up for us, held, as it 
were, the hands of Jesus, that he might be tied to the pillar, for if the 
Father had not previously bound him, and if Jesus had not given his con- 
sent, neither Jews nor Gentiles nor the powers of darkness could have 
tied the Almighty Son of God to that pillar. There Christ said with the 
prophet : ic I am ready for scourges," thy offended majesty, O Father, de- 
mands for the injuries, by which it was blasphemed, a corresponding 
atonement, thy justice demands a perfect satisfaction, behold, here I stand 
as a victim for all mankind, I assume the whole crushing burden of 
guilt, I will pay for it, let justice have its sway, O Father, I am ready for 
scourges. 

Pilate ordered Christ to be scourged as if he had really found him guilty. 
With frantic haste rushed the guards, not one of their number stayed back 
— and the barbarous sentence was executed on him with the most merci- 
less and unfeeling cruelty. His whole body becomes one wound, and the 
blood flows in torrents from all his members, whilst the frightful stripes he 
has received, so shockingly distort his divine countenance, that he appears as 
a leper and as a man stricken by God in the excess of his wrath. Truly, 
he has borne our infirmities, and has carried our sorrows. Behold, then, 
how your Saviour is stricken, contemplate his open wounds, see how his 
flesh is lacerated to the very bones, how the crimson tide of his blood 
causes the very earth to blush for the cruelty of man, see how he trembles 
and writhes under the tortures, consider all this, and read in his gaping 



Lenten Sermons. 



/d 



Avounds that boundless mercy which is ready to give even sinners a refuge 
therein. Read in his blood, the barbarous cruelty of sin for which it is 
shed, read in the sweet heart of your suffering Saviour, the fervor of a love, 
which did not hesitate to include all sinners, even the most guilty, in its 
embrace. To thoroughly convince you of the great magnitude and cruelty 
of sin, I will cease to direct your attention to the immensity, omnipotence, 
and greatness of God, I will not say : sin is a rebellion against the infinite 
majesty of God, I will remind you no more of our first parents who, laden 
with a curse, were driven out of paradise : I will no longer present for 
your consideration the deluge, by which the God of justice drowned a 
wicked generation, I will remind you no more of the sad fate of Sodom 
and Gomorrah whose sins called down a fire from heaven which consumed 
them, I will lead you no longer in spirit to the abyss of hell, to show you 
those Angels and men to whom God said : Depart from me, ye cursed, 
into everlasting fire ; no, no, I will lead you to the suffering Jesus at the 
pillar, show you the mangled, bleeding, dying Lamb of God and tell you: 
Behold, sinner, the work of sin, sin has done this ! O sinners who in your 
blindness never reflect upon the crime which you commit, when, trans- 
gressing the law of your God, you throw yourself into the arms of sin, 
behold your Redeemer in his blood! 

We find in the Sacred Scripture many examples of people who had to 
suffer much, but even the most unfortunate had some consolation in the 
midst of their sufferings. Job fell from the pinnacle of happiness into the 
deepest misery, and suffered the most excruciating pains in his whole body, 
so that, in the bitterness of his soul he exclaimed : he has torn me with 
wound upon wound ; but sympathizing friends came to console him. St 
Paul and Silas his companion were scourged and cast into prison, but the 
keeper had compassion on them and dressed their wounds. That unfor- 
tunate man, who, in his way from Jerusalem to Jericho, fell among rob- 
bers, was robbed of all he had and left half-dead on the road, but a merci- 
ful Samaritan, coming the same way, was touched with pity for his sad 
state, bathed his wounds, poured wine and oil into them and carried him 
to an inn. The Son of God who, for us sinnejs, went from Jerusalem to 
Calvary, has also fallen among robbers, is stripped of his clothes, is 
wounded to his very bones and is at the point of death ; but no 
friend approaches him to sympathize with him or to console him, no mer- 
ciful Samaritan comes to dress his wounds; his executioners rage with 
diabolical malice and cruelty against the divine Victim. Yet, one of them 
was moved by the cruelty of the tortures, to cut the cords with which he 
was tied to the pillar, who cried out to the rest : Will you kill him who is 
not condemned to death ? The cords are cut, the victim can no longer 
stand on his feet, his strength is exhausted, he faints, falls, and lies in his 
blood. Yet those monsters cease not to maltreat him, they strike him 



176 Lenten Sermons. 

with their scourges, and kick him with their sacrilegious feet. Then it 
was that the Son of God prayed in these words : " Have mercy on them, 
O God, for man hath trodden me under foot ; my enemies have trodden 
on me all day long ; for they are many who make war against me." — Ps. 
55 : 2, 3. O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any 
sorrow like to my sorrow. The Father in heaven hears him not, for he 
hath made a vintage of him, as he spoke in the day of his fierce anger; he 
hears him not, for he punishes in him the sins of the whole world, which, 
are laid upon him. 

Mourn, O ye heavens, and divest yourselves of your beauty and glory,, 
for he is without beauty and form, who called you out of nothing; behold 
the Lamb of God in his blood. Mourn, oh earth, crumble into nothing- 
ness beneath the curse laid upon thee, for thou hast drunk in the blood of 
thy God. Mourn, O ye Angels, and cover your faces with your wings ; at 
the birth of Jesus you chanted canticles of joy and announcad to the world 
the happy tidings of the Saviour's birth ; O come now, and weep bitter 
tears of sorrow, for the world has wounded the Saviour and bathed him in 
his blood. O sinners, come, also, and gaze on your Saviour prostrate on 
the ground bathed in his sacred blood. Does not this sight move you ? 
do not these wounds soften your callous, stony hearts ? does not the cry 
of his blood pierce your soul ? Hear what Isaiah says to you : " He has 
been wounded for our sins." Behold, the unjust have sinned and the just 
one is punished ; the guilty have erred and the guiltless is stricken, the 
good man endures what the sinner has deserved, and God expiates the 
sins which man has committed, God is scourged that he might save us 
from the scourges of hell, behold your suffering Redeemer, and recognize 
his ineffable love towards you, consider the greatness and cruelty of sin 
and the inestimable value of your soul. If you are Christians in reality 
and not so only in name, if you believe that the Son of God submitted to 
such intense tortures, all for you, that he accepted this barbarous treatment 
to pay your debt ; if you believe all this why do you not cast yourselves at 
his feet, ask forgivenness for your sins, and offer him a heart full of love 
and gratitude, eying out : O Jesus, eternal love, I love thee above all 
things. 

When the patriarch Jacob saw the coat of his beloved son saturated with 
blood, he rent his garments, girded himself with a rope, bewailing the 
fate of his son and sighing continually: "A wild beast has devoured 
him." — Gen. 37. But you, sinners, seeing not only man but the Son of 
God without a garment, covered with wounds and lying at the foot of the 
pillar in his blood, rend the garment of sin, and cry with Jacob : A wild 
beast, sin, has lacerated my Saviour. When the high-priest Mathathias 
beheld the temple of God demolished by the enemy he wept and moaned, 



Lenten Sermons. 177 

saying : Behold our sanctuary, our beauty and glory is laid waste, and the 
Gentiles have denied it; to what end then should we live any longer? 
But you, sinners, seeing not only the Sanctuary of our Lord, but the Holy 
of Holies in his blood, can you turn away your eyes and say : Let the 
blood flow from my Saviour if I only can live in the full gratification of 
my passions. Will you have the temerity to inflict new wounds on Jesus 
by your sins ? No, I do not think you capable of this, your hearts are not 
of adamant, they are human, they feel the infinite love of Jesus, and 
pierced with sorrow and grief, they must cry out : O amiable Jesus, have 
mercy on us. 

3. Pilate intended to scourge Christ and then release him. But his ene- 
mies thirst, like wild beasts, for more blood, and meditate new tortures. 
"Platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head." — John 19 : 2. 
This was a new punishment, a new device of those monsters, of which no 
tyrant had ever made use. Behold your Saviour, lying on the earth, 
bathed in his blood, and crowned with thorns. Now are fulfilled the 
words of the prophet : " From the crown of the head to the sole of the 
foot there is no sound part in him," the blood gushed forth from his ears, 
nose and eyes, that he might shed blood of tears for our sins. But that 
you may the more thoroughly comprehend the love of God in the crown- 
ing with thorns, meditate on the words of the Apostle : "What man; 
sows he shall also reap." This is the rule, but it was far otherwise with 
our dear Lord ; he has sown wheat, but his harvest is thorns. He has 
strewn the good seed of the doctrine of his heavenly Father, he has 
strengthened the hearts of his hearers with truth and enlightened them 
with wisdom everywhere ; he has scattered benefits, and yet from his 
labors he reaps but thorns, What have we sown ? What do men sow ? 
Sin, murder, impurity, fornication, adultery, incest, sacrilege, theft, rob- 
bery, usury, oppression of the orphans, the widows, and the poor, pride., 
envy, revenge, hatred, wickedness, and iniquity of every description. 
This is what men sow, and the fruit thereof they must reap, namely : sor- 
row, for he that sows sorrow shall reap sorrow. The thorns of sorrow 
are justly our due, and we richly merit their sharpest sting, yet our mer- 
ciful Redeemer wished to reap our thorns and save us therefrom. He 
wished to be crowned with thorns that we might be crowned with glory. 

After they had, with cruel force, pressed down his painful diadem the 
torturers arrayed him in a purple cloak, put a reed in his right hand, and 
bending their knees, said: "Hail, King of the Jews." They struck his 
head with the reed, dared even to spit upon him, and as though the 
scourging were not enough they still give him blows. What royal insignia ? 
crown, sceptre, purple, what sublime homage, Hail King, but also what 
contumely for the King of kings ! They clothe him in purple, not to do. 



178 Lenten Sermons. 

him honor, but to make him an object of scorn. In heaven the Seraphim 
tremble before him and adore him, the ancients prostrate themselves and lay 
their crowns at his feet, acknowledging him King of eternity, and here, by 
way of derision, he is called king, as if he had usurped the title, and yet in 
heaven he is adored King of Kings and Lord of Hosts. 

Job, that admirable model of patience, endured all losses and afflictions 
"without a murmur or complaint, but when his acquaintances came and 
ridiculed him, he complained, saying: "Now they, younger in time, scorn 
me." — Job. 30: t. Samson bore hard labor and the plucking out of his 
eyes with fortitude, but when the Philistines mocked him he tore up the 
pillars of the house, preferring to be buried alive, than to be scoffed at 
and derided. David said, if an enemy had done this I would verily have 
borne with it, but thou, my friend and my companion. Saul, having lost 
a battle, said to his armor-bearer: " Draw thy sword and kill me, lest these 
uncircumcised come and slay and mock me." Yet Jesus was silent and 
did not open his mouth, although he was overwhelmed with contumely 
and derision. 



peroration. 

Dear Christians, you also acknowledge the Son of God as your King and 
your Lord, you also bend your knees before him to adore him, but tell me, 
why do you so often act in direct violation of his law ? If he is your king, 
then you are his subjects, if he is your Lord and Master, then you are his 
servants, and no power can dispense you from fulfilling his holy will. But 
unhappily the majority of Christians profess Jesus with their lips, but deny 
him by their whole manner of living, they pray to him as their God, but 
treat him as though he were their bitterest foe. Are you of this class of 
Christians ? Do you treat your Saviour in so contemptible a manner ? No, 
I cannot believe it, for I know you love him. Therefore, kneel down to 
adore him, to honor him, who stands before you with purple, sceptre, and 
crown, and cry out: Hail, Jesus, King of our souls, rule, thou, over us for 
time and eternity. 



Lenten Sermons. 179 



HOMILY VI 



ECCE HOMO, THE CONDEMNATION, THE WAY OF THE CROSS FROM JERUSALEM 

TO MOUNT CALVARY. 

41 O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to 

my sorrow; for he hath made a vintage of me, as the Lord spoke 

in the day of his fierce anger" — Lam. 1: 12. 

The soldiers had so successfully accomplished their nefarious designs 
that even Pilate could not restrain his expressions of pity when he came 
out and saw Jesus so unmercifully abused, covered with wounds, and 
lacerated, that he had no longer the appearance of a man. This frightful 
spectacle inspired him with the hope, that, could they see the pitiable form 
•of Jesus, the Jews who demanded his death would be overwhelmed with 
compunction, and that he might, in consequence, have an opportunity to 
set him free. Accordingly he brought him out before the populace, and 
said: "Behold the man," "Ecce homo," that is, behold the remnant ot a 
man whom your rage, madness, and cruelty, have almost destroyed. Tell 
me, has he. not suffered enough? What more do you desire? Have pity 
on him who is no longer a man, but has only the appearance of a man, 
release him now, do not demand his death, he cannot recover from his 
wounds, death is inevitable. Behold the man ! He has restored sight to 
many of your blind, has healed your sick, has lavished on many of you his 
love and benefits, and now like a leper from the crown ot his head to the 
sole of his foot there is no form nor beauty in him, therefore have pity, and 
grant him at least the boon of life. Behold the man! Ah, he no longer ap- 
pears to be that great prophet, whom you yourselves have acknowledged, 
nor that enthusiast, so terrible in his wrath at the temple, before whose 
scourges you have fled; nor like that Omnipotence, whose miracles struck 
you dumb; nor like that Son of God whom some of you proclaimed him 
to be, but like a lamb prepared for sacrifice; like a culprit who bleeds to 
death from the wounds inflicted by wild beasts; like one from whose pale 
lips will soon issue the last breath; have pity on him and do not demand 
his death. Your rage should be satiated; for even though he has erred, 
"he has been punished above measure." Ah! the sufferings and pains of 
the divine Redeemer moved the heart of the heathen, but the hearts of the 
chosen people of God were harder than adamant and the glittering ice was 
less cold, for the air rang with the wild cry of this ungrateful degenerate 
people: "Away with him, away with him; crucify him." — John 19: 15. 



180 Lenten Sermons. 

i. I have frequently remarked and I repeat it, that in the Passion of our 
amiable Jesus, there is not a single circumstance that does not contain 
profound mysteries. Thus in this public presentation, or rather exhibition 
of our Lord by Pilate before the Jews and Gentiles, before the highest tem- 
poral and spiritual authorities; belore the priests and the people, in fact, 
before all mankind there represented, there is a great mystery. Pilate 
exhibited the suffering Son of God before the people. Now, this presents, 
itself to me under the following aspect: It is not so much Pilate, as the 
heavenly Father himself, who exhibited his only-begotten Son before all 
mankind in their representatives, in these words: Ecce homo, behold the 
man. As if he would say: this is my beloved Son in whom I am well 
pleased; he is God and man, your Creator and Redeemer. He created 
you out of love and bis love now completes the work of your redemption, 
behold the man, and in him, the price with which he ransoms you from 
your captivity. He is truly both God and man, but he might be more ap- 
propriately called neither, for his humility is so great that no one judges 
him rightly, that scarcely one looks upon him as God. Behold the man, 
who is my beloved Son, he has become a frightful spectacle to the world, 
to men, and to angels; behold the man who bears within him the likeness 
of the invisible God, but here it is disfigured and dishonored, the first-born 
of all creation has become the outcast of men, and the reproach of the 
people; behold the man, in whom the fullness of the God-head dwells cor- 
porally, treated as a malefactor; he has committed no sin, no guilt has 
been found upon his lips, but behold he is stricken and wounded for the 
sins and iniquities of my people. This is my only-begotten Son, whom I 
have not* spared, but given up for the salvation of mankind. Behold the 
man, behold your Redeemer, behold the ransom he pays for you ! Whilst 
Pilate presents Jesus to the gaze of the populace I seem to hear the Son of 
God say to his Father: Oh Eternal Father, thou hast said once by the mouth 
of the prophet Ezechiel: "I have sought among them for a man that 
might set up a hedge and stand in the gap before me in favor of the land, 
that I might not destroy it, and I found none," behold I am the man that 
will set up a hedge between thee and the land, between thee and fallen 
mankind, that you mayest not destroy them, behold I will deliver man 
from thy just anger, and for this reason wear a crown of thorns on my head; 
behold I will restore man, disfigured by sin, to his former beauty and sanc- 
tity, and for this reason I am so disfigured that I have lost even the appear- 
ance of a man. Behold, O just Father, behold a man who suffers in- 
nocently for the guilty. I have become a living leper, that thou mayest 
not pour out thy indignation upon those who thus outrage and mal- 
treat me. Behold, O Father, a man who is ready to suffer, ready to die, 
to redeem sinners, to reconcile them with thee, and to conduct them to the 
kingdom of glory. And now I would hold him up to view before heaven 
and earth, but not with the words of Pilate: "Behold the man," but 



Lenten Sermons. 181 

with the words that correspond to his nature: Behold God! Oh ye Angels, 
lift up your eyes to this Jesus, for he is your God, before whom you 
prostrate yourselves and whom you adore; he is your God, whose lightest 
word you obey. What do you say of your God, thus covered with wounds 
and blood ? What do you think of him ? Ah ! the Angels answer with 
the Prophets: "We have seen him without figure, without form, without 
beauty." All the celestial spirits mourn and lament at the sight of their 
>God thus abused, and exclaim: "Woe, woe, they have blasphemed the 
Holy of Israel." You also my brethren, behold your suffering God whom 
Pilate exhibits with the words: behold the man, and whom I place before 
you with the words: behold God! Behold God, who for love of you left 
.heaven and the glory he shared with the Father, who for love of you 
descended from his throne of majesty to a bed of straw in the crib, who 
-strove for thirty-three years in toil, tears, and sweat for your salvation ; 
behold, this amiable God suffered all the shame and confusion of this ex- 
hibition for your sake. Behold God, who offers himself as an expiation 
for your sins, who with his holy blood will redeem your soul, who in his 
blood and wounds reveals the excess of his love for you. Oh ! consider 
him from the top of his 'head to the sole of his foot and see if he is not 
worthy of all your love, compassion, and tears. Behold those open, 
bleeding wounds ; behold the crown of thorns ; behold the purple gar- 
ment ; that disgraceful reed in his hand ; behold those instruments of tor- 
ture ; all these pains he suffers of his own free will because he loves you, 
because he wishes to snatch you from the fiery prison of hell. Behold, 
he chooses a crown of thorns that he might crown you with a crown of 
glory ; he endures those frightful scourges to free you from the scourge of 
damnation ; he permits himself to be spit upon and mocked that he may 
restore beauty and holiness to your souls and prepare them for heavenly joys, 
for Jesus does all this for you, reflect upon it, and tell me : is not 
this merciful loving, suffering, and bleeding God worthy of all your love, 
all your compassion, all your tears ! O Christians, O sinners, behold your 
Jesus who is presented before you with the words : behold the man ; behold 
God, and tell me : do you really and firmly believe that this suffering Jesus 
is your Lord and God ? Do you really and firmly believe that he suffers 
all this for your sake? Do you really and firmly believe that he gives his 
precious blood for your sins ? You answer, yes, I believe that Jesus is my 
Lord and my God. In is sufferings, his pains and his blood, I behold 
the rich guerdon he gives for my soul. Believing this, how can you be- 
hold him without sentiments of the deepest sorrow and contrition for your 
sins, through which all his wounds bleed afresh. How can you see your 
merciful Jesus suffer all this and yet turn coldly away, and return to your 
sins ? Can your heart be really so hard ? Ah, if I speak in vain to your heart 
and soul, if I labor in vain to excite in you reciprocal love for your Re- 
deemer, and contrition for your sins, I will turn to those who do not 



1 82 Lenten Sermons. 

yet know their God, upon whose ear the name of Christ has never fallen,, 
who know naught of his love and sufferings, the Gentiles shall be the 
judges between you and your amiable Redeemer. 

"Hear, then, ye isles, and hearken, ye people from afar, ye, who in- 
habit the uttermost parts of the world, come, see, and judge." Behold a 
man. Behold your God. Know then, he who suffers is not only man, but 
also God. He is the Lord of heaven and earth, legions of Angels and all 
creatures obey his commands. Do you know why the omnipotent God 
suffers, and for whom he suffers all those tortures ? Hear !. he suffers for 
those who are here assembled, he suffers for their brothers- and sisters, he 
suffers for all men, in order to deliver them from eternals sufferings, he 
suffers to pay their penalty, he suffers to show them in his wounds his in- 
effable love. What, O Gentiles, do you think of this God of love and of 
mankind for whom he suffers ! Tell me, is it not the duty of all to love 
that God with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their 
strength ? But listen and wonder, they love him but little, they forget his 
love, even despise him, alas ! they repeat the very thing for which he 
suffers. And what is worse, O Gentiles, this God is utterly prostrated by 
his sufferings and his pains, but, to pursue the mad whirl of their 
joys, those who call themselves his followers turn away from him. 
This God has shed all his blood for them, and they will not 
shed a tear, this God is meek, patient, and humble of heart) they 
suffer themselves to be carried away by anger, they are inflated with pride, 
and for days the fire of impatience, anger and enmity flames- up in their 
hearts. Tell me, O Gentiles, what think you of this amiable God, and 
these hard-hearted people, who call themselves Christians r Ah ! they 
must say : these people, whom you call Christians, have no faith, for if 
they did believe this sufferer is their God, that he suffers for them and 
their sins, that he suffers to redeem their souls for heaven, they would 
shed tears for their sins, they would be filled with gratitude and love for 
this good God ; they would sacrifice all they possess, even their life rather 
than offend by a single sin this God who has manifested such love towards 
them. 

And now, I turn to you and appeal to your own hearts, O Christians. 
Behold the man whom God presents to you as his only-begotten, well- 
beloved Son, behold the man, who offers himself to pay the penalty of 
your sins, behold the man at the sight of whom the heavenly spirits mourn, 
behold your God who moves even the Gentiles to compassion, will you 
alone remain hard, cold and insensible at such a sight ; will you 
alone turn your eyes from this God and Redemer ; will you alone 
refuse to acknowledge the love of this God and the enormity of sin ? 
Oh, say, who has inflicted on the Son of God these deep and mortal 



Lenten Sermons. . 183 

wounds, if not sin, of which you have contributed your share. Who has 
torn and mangled his body, who has crowned his head with thorns, if not 
sin, in which you have participated. Judge yourselves ; is not this God 
worthy of all your love, compassion, and tears ? Or will you with the 
Jews fill the measure to overflowing? Will you join with them in the 
cruel cry " away with him, away with him, crucify him, crucify him ?' r 
If there be such a one amongst you, I will ask him : Oh flinty heart, 
destitute of feeling and love, what evil has Jesus done ? Why should he 
be crucified ? Is it because he is innocent, because he is holy? Is it be- 
cause he has done so much good to you ? Hear, then, his judge declares : 
I find no cause in him. Great God, if in this congregation one soul 
should be found wicked enough to pronounce the words : "crucify him," 
I am innocent of the blood of this just man, which will be lost on that 
soul. But no, O Lord, the hearts of thy children are not so wicked, so 
diabolical ; they indeed suffer themselves to be carried away by surprise. 
by inadvertence, by temptations and passions, to offend thee, but even the 
most obdurate will tremble and will never say : his blood be upon us and 
upon our children. Oh ! heavenly Father, behold, we all are moved and 
penetrated with sorrow, we all with a contrite heart look up to thy Son, 
who stands all wounded and bleeding, before our eyes. O most loving 
Jesus, I address thee with the most humble petition, not however in the 
sense of the Jews : Lord, thy blood be upon us aud upon our children^ 
Our souls Have been bought by the price of thy blood, in thy blood 
alone is our strength, our hope, confidence, and salvation. O Jesus 
let thy blood come upon us, let its crimson tide enter and inflame them 
with the fire of thy love. 

2. Pilate, seeing, at last, that his efforts to release Jesus were in vain, and 
that his enemies, lashed on to wild fury, still fiercely cried : cru- 
cify him ; and hearing their threat : if you set him free you are not Caesar s 
friend, delivered him to them to be crucified. Pilate, the representative of 
the Emperor, to whom, above all others, it has been given to preserve and 
cherish right and justice. Pilate shrinks from the wrath of an excited populace. 
He has not the courage to defend right and to oppose injustice, but suffers 
himself to become guilty of injustice in order to ingratiate himself with 
that wicked rabble. He is convinced of the innocence of the accused, 
he himself had confessed Christ's innocence, he knows they have delivered 
him up out of envy, he knows that all their accusations are groundless and 
false, he has already heard that Judas confessed his crime of treason, and 
in despair hanged himself; his wife has warned him to have nothing to do 
with that just man ; he is fully aware of all this and yet he condemns 
him to death, he condemns him to be crucified like a malefactor between 
two thieves. You may wash your hands a hundred times and say : "I 
am innocent of the blood of this just man, the water will neither wash 



184 Lenten Sermons. 

your hands nor cleanse your soul, they are denied and stained with the 
blood of God. 

To the ocean of torments in which he suffers, is to be added the bitter 
and ignominious death on the cross. He is to be crucified. But, Oh, 
heavenly Father, will you forsake the eternal Word, will you permit your 
only-begotten, well-beloved Son to be crucified ? The Father answers: he 
is to be crucified. But why? Christ is innocent. The Father answers: 
So much I have loved the world as to give my only-begotten Son for its 
redemption, But, Oh Angels, what do you say to this last, this unpre- 
cedented condemnation of your God? They answer: he is to be crucified. 
But wherefore; of what evil has he been guilty ? Of no evil whatever, but 
he must die, that the mansions of heaven, once the abode of those Angels 
who are now burning in hell, may be peopled with men, ransomed by the 
precious blood he will shed. And you, Adam, can you find words where 
with to pronounce upon him this sentence? He is to be crucified, he must die 
on the wood that he may redeem thereon my children whom I lost by the 
wood. And you, weeping and most afflicted Mother of Jesus, will you 
not raise your hands to heaven, will not your powerful prayers penetrate 
the clouds. You have found grace with God, will you not pray that he be 
delivered from this ignominy and death ? Ah ! no, such is not her prayer; 
.she says: Knowing it is the will of God, that my Son should die for the sins 
of the world, his will be done, he is to be crucified. Andy ou, Of Christian, 
who have frequently defiled your soul by sin, give your verdict on the fate 
.of your Saviour. Oh, I hear you also cry out: he is to be crucified, if he 
die not, I must be lost. But for you I have only one word: Say: he is to 
be crucified, but he shall be crucified in my heart, he shall be fastened 
therein with three nails, that I may never lose him again, and upon these 
three nails their names: Faith, Hope and Charity, are inscribed. 

3. The sentence is passed, everything is ready, the vast crowd moves from 
the house of Pilate, out of the city, up to Calvary's heights. What a sight 
All Israel is assembled, they follow him who carries the cross, as they fol- 
lowed him once before, when in a column of fire he went before them. A 
curious multitude accompany him; a crowd of wicked boys surround him, 
mocking and blaspheming him; soldiers walk in front and on both sides, 
as if a criminal were being led to the place of execution; behind him two 
thieves, who are also condemned to death. St. Augustine, representing to 
his mind the Son of God walking through the streets of Jerusalem with the 
heavy load of the cross on his shoulders, says: "If faith beholds him, what 
a magnificent spectacle, but if impiety, what mockery; what a great mystery 
to piety, what horrible contumely to impiety. To see the Holy of Holies, 
like the chief of a band of robbers, led to death, what contumely; but to see 
the Son of God carrying the cross that on it he might conquer the invisible 



Lenten Sermons. 185 

enemy who once conquered mankind on the wood, what a profound 
mystery!" 

But behold, his strength fails, his tortures have already brought him 
nigh to death, he can scarcely move beneath the heavy load, he is ex- 
] hausted, he falls. They drag him up and compel him to continue his 
journey. No one pities him, no one sympathizes with him, his enemies 
are jubilant, his friends [have abandoned him. O yes, there are tears 
flowing, but they are no consolation. "Weep not for me," said he to the 
women of Jerusalem, " but for yourselves, and for your children. " Ah! 
here at last is one soul that loves him,*one heart that feels for him, his holy 
mother, What a meeting ! What pains for these two loving souls ! Ah 
it was no consolation, but a bitter pain, for this mutual pain was to be 
measured by their mutual love. 

Jesus falls again beneath the cross, he can carry it no longer. For this 
Teason, and not through compassion, but, apprehensive that he might die 
before reaching Calvary, they compelled Simon of Cyrene to help him carry 
his cross. Time does not allow me to lead you more deeply into the 
mystery of these sufferings. I will briefly point to you your Redeemer 
carrying his cross. Behold, with what joy he embraces the cross and lays 
it on his shoulders, to redeem you, whereas your chief aim is to have the 
cross rather beneath your feet than on your shoulders. See, your Redeemer 
faints under the heavy load, and no friend approaches to speak one kind 
word or to divide with him its weight, he is surrounded by enemies on all 
sides, and you sigh and murmur when God sends you some little mortifi- 
cation. Your Redeemer carries the cross and cries out to you: "If any 
man wishes to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and fol- 
low me," again, " he that will not carry his cross, cannot be my disciple 
and is not worthy of me." Separate yourselves therefore from those who 
carry crosses, even great ones, not for Jesus' sake, but for the world. 

And now they have reached Calvary's summit, where, urged on by malice 
and hate, they complete the preparations for the consummation of the 
sentence. They tear off his garments. At the scourging, Jesus was ex- 
posed naked to the soldiers, here on Calvary, to the whole world. What 
shame and confusion must have overwhelmed the sensitive heart of our 
Saviour. How intense must have been his anguish, when his clothes being 
torn off his wounds began to bleed afresh. Thus he has to endure the gaze 
of a vile rabble. I represent him to my mind as crying out in the words 
of which the Church makes use in these days: "O my people, what 
have I done, whereby have I offended you ? Out of love for you, I 
struck Egypt with many plagues, but you have stricken me from the crown 
■of my head to the sole of my foot. I delivered you from th« oppression of 



1 86 Lenten Sermons. 

Egypt, but you have delivered me to my enemies; I brought you out 
of the land of bondage, but you have dragged me out of Jerusalem 
to crucify me; I slew the first-born of Egypt, and you are going to kill the 
only-begotten Son of God. To save you from the fury of Pharaoh, I di- 
vided the red sea for you to pass through, but you have torn my body with 
scourges; I fed you with manna, in the desert, and you give me vinegar 
and gall. On Mount Sinai I gave you the law of life and you pronounce 
the sentence of death upon me. I gave you Moses and Aaron as leaders, 
and you give me two malefactors as companions." 

PERORATION. 

Would to God that our Saviour were not obliged to renew these 
complaints! Alas ! their echo comes clearly through the corridors 
of time. From Calvary's mount, Jesus cries out: Christian people, 
that the perfidious Jews should treat me thus was no marvel, but that 
you, you, who by so many titles are my people, that you should prefer 
Barabbas to me, that you should betray me, that you should crucify 
me; Oh, this is the excess of ingratitude. O ye Christian people, 
whom I love above all the rest that inhabit the earth, whom I have 
redeemed with my blood, enriched with my graces, nourished with my 
flesh and blood, in what have I offended you ? Answer if you can. Be- 
cause I was bathed in my own blood in the garden through love for you, 
you daily betray me like Judas and crucify me with the Jews. Hear, the 
Jews preferred Barabbas to me, and he was a man, but you prefer sin to 
me; Judas betrayed me to the Jews, and they were men, you betray me to 
the devil. What have I done to you, in what have I offended you, that 
you love me so little ? Oh, love me, as I love you. But if you wish to 
love me, hate sin, love virtue, keep my commandments. Ah, for the love 
of Jesus remember and repeat daily to the end of your lives those sweet 
and beautiful words of St. Theresa: "Oh, Jesus, my love, I will love 
thee for ever, Oh Jesus, from this moment I will sin no more, no, never, 
never. 



Lenten Sermons. 187 



HOMILY VII. 



THE CRUCIFIXION, THE SEVEN WORDS AND THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 

" all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to 

my sorrow ; for he hath made a vintage of me, as the Lord 

spoke in the day of his fierce anger." — Lam. 1 : 12 

In narrating the other sufferings of Christ the Evangelists give either a 
detailed account of them, or the one supplies what the other omits. But 
here they all declare as with one voice: They crucified him. In the con- 
templation of the incomprehensible depth of this mystery revealed to them 
from the cross, in contemplating the numberless pains and the great igno- 
miny which Jesus suffered, and in dwelling on the ineffable love, with 
which the divine God-man offered his hands and feet to be pierced through 
with great nails — the pen falls, as it were, powerless from their hands. In 
vain they seek for words to express in fitting terms the unprecedented 
cruelty on the one hand, and the unspeakable love, with which, on the 
other, such great blessings have accrued to poor fallen man at this stage of 
our Blessed Redeemer's sacred Passion. The Evangelists say: "they cru- 
cified him;" they seem not to have the courage to mention his adorable 
name, they merely sum it up thus: they crucified him. 

1. Would you understand the manner of this cruel and painful crucifixion ? 
Then, in fancy vividly place before your minds Mount Calvary as the great 
theatre of the inexorable justice of God, and represent to your mind the 
Eternal Father addressing his Son in the following words: My well-beloved 
Son, whom I have begotten before the morning star from eternity, you 
have through infinite love and mercy offered yourself as the Redeemer of 
of fallen man. Behold the time, the hour is at hand, when the promised 
debt must be paid, behold the place where the sacrifice is to be consum- 
mated, behold the altar on which the victim is to be immolated. This is 
the cross on which you are to die, you have carried it to Calvary's heights, 
but this carrying alone will not be sufficient, you must be nailed to it and 
upon it must you die. Jesus replies: " Father, thou hast prepared a body 
for me, behold, I am ready, I come to die, that I may satisfy thy justice, 
and reconcile mankind with thee, that those may live whom my soul loves. 
O cross, on thee I will lay my lacerated, pierced head and wearied limbs, 
on thee I will keep my second Sabbath rest from work which will be com- 



iSS Lenten Sermons. 

pleted to-day. Thou, O cross, wilt be that wonderful rod, which destroys 
the venomous serpent of sin, thou art that mysterious rod, with which the 
Red Sea of my blood will be divided, through which my people will be 
conducted into the Land of Promise; thou art the scales, on which the 
price of my blood will be weighed; thou art the bank, to which I will pay 
my people's debt until the very last farthing; thou art the ladder, on which 
men will ascend with me to the mansions of bliss; thou art the holy tree, 
from which the Redeemer will gather the fruits of immortality; thou art 
the invincible sword stronger than that of David, which slew Goliah, with 
which I will slay the giant of hell; thou art the golden key which will open 
the gates of paradise, for so long fast closed against fallen man; thou, O 
cross will be the weapon of my Apostles, the shield of my confessors, the 
consolation of the afflicted, the refuge of sinners, the staff of the poor, the 
glory of the rich, the teacher of the ignorant, the hope of the dying, the 
ierror of hell, the redeemer of the world, the delight of heaven, and the sign 
of the last judgment. Therefore I take possession of thee, O glorious 
cross, I embrace thee, I salute thee, I kiss thee with the lips of my soul. 
On thee I will rest and die, and dying I will conquer hell, gain heaven 
and redeem man. 

Such were the thoughts of Jesus. He stretched out his hands on the 
cross to satisfy for wicked deeds, murders, adultery, fornication, and injus- 
tice; in like manner he offered his feet to satisfy the criminal ways of man- 
kind. The soldiers apply the nails to the hands and feet, stroke follows 
stroke, the wailing sound re-echoes far o'er the blood-stained mount, pene- 
trate the highest heavens, and ascend to the throne of the Almighty. O 
God, what a spectacle ! Murderous iron pierces those hands which laid 
the foundation of the world, barbarous nails fasten him to the stake of 
ignominy, the blood flows in torrents from his pierced hands and feet to 
saturate and wash the curse-laden earth which thirsts for redemption. 
There he hangs between heaven and earth. Look up to the cross, those 
nails and hammer will speak to you, they will cry out to you with more 
emphasis and vigor than I can: O man, perceive the malice of sin, which 
cries to heaven for vengeance, which is punished in the innocent, those 
pierced hands and feet announce to you more eloquently than I can, the 
punishment due to sin. The sacred blood which reddens the cross and 
the earth speaks louder and more eloquently than I can of that love with 
which the suffering Jesus embraces you. Look into those wounds and 
read therein that which the Son of God has inscribed in them : O man, I 
love thee, and for love of thee I die. 

At what time was Christ crucified? On the day of preparation before 
Easter. About the sixth hour. Again a great mystery. About the sixth 
hour the first Adam sinned by the tree of knowledge in paradise when he 



Lenten Sermons. 189 

ate the forbidden fruit; about the sixth hour the second Adam satisfied for 
this sin of disobedience by his death on the cross. The first Adam con- 
tracted the debt about the sixth hour, and the second Adam to pay that 
debt shed his blood about the sixth hour. Thus the time of redemption 
corresponded to the time of sin, as the wood of sin corresponded to the 
wood of redemption. But to have crucified Jesus was not sufficient for the- 
malice and hate of the Jews.. They crucified with him two thieves, one on 
the right and the other on the left with Jesus in the middle. O! what an 
outrage to inflict upon him! No tongue can express, no pen can describe 
an ignominy so great that it overwhelmed our Lord with the deepest con- 
fusion. The Jews did this to show their intense hatred and utter contempt 
for Jesus, that punished with thieves and robbers he might be regarded by 
all as a malefactor. What is more like than these three crosses, and what 
more widely different than those w r ho are suspended thereupon! Truly the 
Just, Holy, and Innocent hangs between thieves, as if he were the chief 
among robbers and the wretch who incited them to every crime. Again a 
great mystery. The Son of God is everywhere in the middle, he worked 
out our redemption in the middle of the earth. On Mount Thabor he was 
between Moses and Elias, between the law and the Prophets, announced 
by both, adored by both; in the crib he lay On straw between Angels and 
men; in the temple he was found in the midst of doctors; in the midst of 
the Apostles he gave the divine revelations; on Calvary he hangs as medi- 
ator between heaven and earth, between two robbers. The Lord hanging 
between two robbers, rejected the one and saved the other. Raise up your 
eyes to your Mediator, for he has fallen among robbers. As I must be 
brief, I have but one word to say, remember it and engrave it indelibly 
upon your hearts : When this same Jesus comes into your hearts may he 
never, find a place among robbers, when in the Blessed Sacrament he de- 
scends from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he comes to dwell in you, may he 
never fall among robbers, namely, sins. 

Pilate in the meantime had written the inscription and ordered it to he- 
put on the cross. It reads: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. This 
excited the anger of the Jews. Lest it should be generally believed that 
the crucified was really king and that they were guilty of regicide, they 
said to Pilate: Write not king of the Jews, but that he said: I am king of 
the Jews. But Pilate answered: "What I have written, I have written." 
What moved the governor to place this glorious title on the cross of Jesus 
whom he had suffered to be crucified between two malefactors. This was 
not his work so much as an ordinance of God. Those hands, wounded, 
pierced and held fast by cruel nails to the cross, directed the hand of Pilate 
to write the truth. The title was to remain unchanged because the word 
of God is unchangeable. While Jesus hangs on the cross and the glorious 
inscription glitters above his head raise up your eyes and consider the= 
image and inscription. 



190 Lenten Sermons. 

2. Whose image and inscription is it? I hear you answer: the image is 
that of a poor, suffering and dying man, but the inscription is that of Jesus 
Christ, the Redeemer of the world ; the image is that of a wounded, lace- 
rated man, who has become the reproach of men and the outcast of the 
people, but the inscription is that of the Son of God ; the image is that of 
a sinner, of a criminal, but the inscription is that of a just man ; the image 
is that of a tortured slave, but the inscription, it must be a mighty prince 
who is suffering there, the image is that of a punished blasphemer, of a 
scoffer and transgressor of the commandments of the Most High, but the 
inscription is that of a confessor, of one who nobly defends the divine 
truth. Behold the image of sufferings and the title of salvation, the image 
of death and the title of life and triumph ; the divinity and humanity of 
Jesus Christ, for Christ needed both to conquer hell. Oh that this glorious 
title might be written in our hearts : ' ' Jesus of Nazareth, King of the 
Jews. Give heed, O Christians, in you also there is an image and an in- 
scription. The image is that of God, for you are created according to the 
image of God, but the inscription, which not Pilate but the Church has 
imprinted on your forehead with indelible characters, reads : this is a 
Christian, a follower of Christ. Glance from the image and inscription 
on the cross to the image and inscription within you and see if they cor- 
respond. Examine your conscience and ask yourselves whose image is 
this ? O ! can you deny that the image holds up to view a vile sinner, a 
violator of the commandments of God, but the inscription belongs to a 
Christian called to sanctify his immortal soul. Must you not say : the 
image is that of a man who has forgotten his Redeemer and denied him 
by his works, but the inscription is that of a Christian who should live and 
die with his crucified God. Oh ! take courage and firmly determine that 
henceforth your works shall correspond to the glorious title of a disciple 
of Christ. 

Jesus is nailed to the cross, the cross is raised, he hangs between heaven 
and earth, praying to his heavenly Father : ' ' Father forgive them, for they 
know not what they do." Oh that word of sweetness and love, of patience 
and forbearance. As once from his divine lips came the words : "a new 
commandment I give you,'' so he can now say : a new example I give you. 
Scourged and crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross, a frightful spectacle 
to the whole world he forgets his own pains and prays : Father, forgive 
them. He once gave the precept : pray for those that persecute and calum- 
niate you ; he is the first to teach the observance of this precept by his 
own example. David had prophesied: "Instead of loving me, they 
calumniated me but I prayed. " Here you see the fulfillment of the pro- 
phecy. Such infinite love deems it so light a sacrifice to bear the sins of 
the world and to die for men, that Jesus even prays for his murderers ; he 
demands no revenge but pleadingly cries mercy. ! Father, forgive them. 



Lenten Sermons. 191 

The blood of Abel cried to God from the earth for vengeance against his 
brother Cain, but my blood cries to thee, Oh God, for mercy and pardon : 
Father, forgive them. The thorns on my. head, the nails in my hands and 
feet, the wounds of my body, the pains of my soul cry out : Father, for- 
give them. Offering to thee my tears, my blood, and my life, I pray, 
Father, forgive them. Let my blood, which these people have called upon 
themselves and their children, be more efficacious than that with which 
the Israelites sprinkled their door-posts, let it cause their purification, I ask 
no vengeance but mercy, I suffer all those things out of love for them. 
To-day is the day of pardon, the hour of superabundant redemption : 
Father, forgive them. 

Who can fully comprehend this mercy, grace, and ineffable love ? For- 
gotten is their hard-heartedness, their obstinacy and cruelty; forgotten their 
denial and ingratitude ; nothing but love and mercy for those wretches 
breathes forth from their crucified Lord. O amiable Jesus, how adorable 
art thou in this love. O Jesus, as thou dost pray, behold around thy cross 
are assembled not only those who pierced thy hands and feet, but also 
those who love thee, who confess and adore thee as their Lord and God. 
O Jesus ! I recommend them and myself to thy prayer, Oh, pray for us to 
thy heavenly Father : Father, forgive them. I know sweet Jesus that, not 
the Jews, but the sins of the world have crucified thee, I know that of thy 
own free will, through love of us, thou hast offered thyself to death, I know 
that thou hast shed thy blood for me and for all those that hear me ; O 
Jesus, I recommend myself and them to thy prayer, Oh, pray for us : 
Father, forgive them. Open, O sinners ! your hearts and ears, and hear 
the voice of your dying Redeemer praying for you : Father, forgive them. 

If the suffering, bleeding, crucified, and dying Son of God has no 
power to touch your hearts, if you can look into his dim. and dying eyes 
without exclaiming : O Jesus, my love, I will show you the praying fesus, 
who, lifting his pierced hands to heaven, prays for you with the voice of 
his lips, his heart, his wounds, and blood : Father, forgive them. Oh, 
be moved by the immensity of his love, love your Saviour, he merits your 
most devoted and unselfish love, he has exhausted his love for you. Oh, 
that this divine prayer might exercise its holy influence over your hearts, 
that it might conquer and compel them to love ; Oh ! that in the conver- 
sion of your hearts it might celebrate a triumph as on Calvary, for there it 
gained salvation for one of the thieves, who from his Saviour heard the 
gracious words : ' ' This day thou shalt be with vie in paradise. " There it 
opened heaven to the Centurion and many of the Jews, who, with humility 
and contrition, struck their breasts and acknowledged him whom they had 
crucified to be their Redeemer, their Lord, and God, crying out : ' ' Truly, 
this man was just and the Son of God. " There on Calvary, it prepared 



192 Lenten Sermons. 

the hearts of thousands, who shortly after, by the Sacrament of Baptism, 
from children of darkness became children of God. O Christians, your 
Redeemer from the cross bids you come that he may pardon your sins ; 
were they even so great as to reach to the clouds, your Saviour has mercy on 
you ; were they even so abominable as to cry to heaven for vengeance, his 
forgiveness will feelingly be given. Therefore, do not harden your hearts 
this day, which is the day of mercy, but pray with the thief : Lord, re- 
member me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom. 

3. There were some women present at the crucifixion. Mary Magdalene,. 
Mary the mother of James and Salome, who witnessed the crucifixion from 
afar. Beneath the cross I see the mother of Jesus, and the disciple whom 
he loved, to his mother he said : " Woman, behold thy son," and to the dis- 
ciple : ' ' Son, behold thy mother. " Christ prayed first for his enemies ; then 
he spoke to the penitent thief and assured him of redemption, the fruit of 
his sufferings, and his admission into heaven ; only then had he a word 
for his afflicted mother, who, with a bleeding heart, stood beneath the 
cross. Ah! it seems that his enemies meet with more favor than his friends ; 
the heart of the Redeemer is quicker and more deeply moved by the humble 
confession of the sinner than the heart of the Son by the unutterable sor- 
row of his afflicted mother. St. Augustine remarks : he indeed preferred 
his mother to all others, but he wished to show the world how solicitous 
he was for the salvation of sinners, for this reason he addressed them first 
and then his mother. What did he say to her ? " Woman, behold thy son. " 
At this word a pang keener than a two-edged sword pierced her sensi- 
tive suffering heart. Her Son calls her no more by that sweet name of 
Mother, which belongs to her by nature. He no longer addresses her 
with the angel Mother of God, but simply woman. Why does our Saviour 
use. this expression ? What had she done that she should forfeit the title 
of mother. Is Jesus ashamed of his mother ? Ah, no, but his motive 
was to guard against increasing her grief by that sweetest of names. 
Another reason why he thus spoke to her was : because he had 
declared with a solemn oath, "I am Christ, the Son of the living 
God." His enemies cried out to him : "If thou be the Son of God come, 
down from the cross." To prove that he was the Son of God he said to 
his mother : " Woman, behold thy son." This was the moment in which 
the prophecy of the venerable Simeon was fulfilled: "a sword shall, 
pierce thy soul." But oh! Mother of God, what an exchange, John is 
given to you in place of Jesus ; the disciple, for the master, the servant, 
for the Lord ; a mere man, for the true God. This was a great affliction 
for her maternal heart, for although John was holy and innocent, he was 
only a creature, whom she was to take in place of her Son, who was borni 
of her, and who was God. 



Lenten Sermons. 193 

" Son behold thy mother " these words are of the deepest significance not 
only to John, but to us all, for she is given to us all as our mother, as irrevo- 
cably as if the Lord had said : until now thou wert my mother exclusively, but 
henceforth thou shalt be the mother of all. As my mission was to die for 
all men, so shall yours be to live for their sake. O Holy Virgin, happy 
the hour in which your Son gave you to us for our mother, so that we can 
say, we are children of your grief. Your Son called you woman, that 
you might become our mother, and whilst he has become our Father of 
mercy and the God of consolation, you become our mother of mercy, 
our hope and our consolation. But where do you see this loving mother ? 
She stands beneath the cross. The world has never seen more perfect 
beings than/es^s and Mary. He, the King of Kings, the Lord of Hosts ; 
she, the Queen of heaven; he the Son of God, and she his holy Mother; he, 
on the cross, and she under its shadow, but neither without the weight of the 
cross. And why ? To teach us that in the cross, alone, there is salvation. 
Jesus suffered to enter into his glory ; Mary, the Immaculate, suffered to 
enter into the kingdom of God, and both, without guilt and sin, and you 
who are conceived and born in sin, who yourselves have committed sin, 
and spent the greater part of your life in sin, you wish to be without a 
cross ? Or will you, who are enemies of the cross, who do not look up to 
your suffering and dying Kedeemer — but to sin — will you be able to 
ascend from earth to heaven without the cross ? Do you think you can 
obtain salvation without the cross of self-denial and penance. Have you 
forgotten those menacing words of the Law : "the measure of punishment 
will be according to the measure of sin." Therefore, O man, O sinner, 
here on Calvary, in sight of your Redeemer, in his pain on the cross, and 
with the pitiful spectacle of the divine Mother, the mother of mercy be- 
neath it, but one choice is left to you, a choice on which depends your 
salvation or your damnation. Choose either with Jesus to carry the cross 
and enter into life eternal, or without the cross to be cast into the terriMe 
tire of hell. 

4. A great darkness covered the earth which lasted from the sixth to the 
ninth hour, and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice : 
" My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me P" Knowing that all was 
fulfilled, he said : " I thirst." One of the soldiers, taking a sponge, rilled 
it with vinegar and gall, and gave him to drink. What father, at the sight 
of his son suffering and appealing to him for help, does not haste to his 
assistance ? That father mentioned in the Gospel, went to meet his pro- 
digal son who had wasted his paternal substance, he kissed him, and was 
r.ejoiced at his return. Yet the heavenly Father forsakes his Son, who, in- 
his sufferings on the cross, struggles with death. Well could he say with 
the Psalmist : "Omy God, I shall cry by day and thou wilt not hear, and 
by night, and it shall be reputed as folly in me." In the garden I called 



194 Lenten Sermons. 

at night, and thou heardest me not, now I cry by day, and thou forsakest 
me. Joseph prayed in the well, and God moved the hearts of his brethren 
to release him. Daniel prayed, when cast amid furious and raging lions, 
and God delivered him ; the three young men prayed in the fiery furnace 
of Babylon, and God made the flames gently fan them like soft cool 
breezes. Jesus prays and God hears him not, his enemies surround him 
like lions, he is devoured by pains, he is rejected by his people, sold by 
his brethren, deprived of life by those whom he loved, and is also forsaken 
by his Father. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? " 

The great pain of desolation was increased by a burning thirst. He 
had patiently endured everything, and now he complains of thirst. He 
suffered intensely from a double thirst, a spiritual and a natural thirst. 
The natural thirst has its cause in the great loss of blood. Consider how 
much blood he lost in the garden of Olives, at his scourging, at the crown- 
ing with thorns, and by the crucifixion. His word, " I thirst" signifies 
also his interior spiritual thirst. O heavenly Father, when the Israelites 
thirsted in the desert, thou didst open a rock and give them water, thou 
didst send an angel to Hagar to show her a fountain, thou didst cause 
water to come forth from the tooth of animal for Samson, thou hast given 
David to drink out of a cistern at Bethlehem, and behold, for more than 
three hours, thy Son must endure an intolerable thirst. Oh, let 
his mother dip the tip of her finger in water to quench his 
burning thirst, for he suffers the most terribe pains. But the Father 
refuses his Son this refreshment, not one little drop of water shall 
moisten his fevered lips, gall and vinegar are given to him to drink. 
Do you wish to know the true cause of our Redeemer's thirst ? Hear, 
then, St. Augustine, who says in the person of the Lord : "My thirst is 
your salvation, my thirst is your redemption, I thirst for your faith and for 
your souls. The thirst for your souls torments me more than the thirst of 
my body." These words of St. Augustine should sink deeply into our souls 
since they reveal to us the ineffable love of our Saviour. Christians could 
quench that thirst of their Redeemer by dedicating themselves to his service, 
by thirsting for his justice, but with the Psalmist I will and must complain : 
They thirst, but do not thirst for God. " One thirsts for money ; another 
for honors ; another for power, and scarcely one can be found who can 
;truly say : my soul thirsts for God. 

Having taken the vinegar and gall he said : // is consummated, and once 
more cried out with a loud voice : Father, into thy hands I commend my 
spirit, and bowing down his head he gave up the ghost. — Luke 23 : 46. 
When the priest at the altar offers to God the same sacrifice which the Son 
of God offered on the cross of Calvary, namely, the holy Sacrifice of the 
.Mass, he says at the offertory: "Accept, O holy Father, this unspotted 



Lenten Sermons. 195 

Host, which I, thy unworthy servant offer thee, my living and true God 
for my numberless sins, offences and negligences, for all here present and 
for all faithful Christians, living and dead, that it may avail me and them 
to life everlasting." Having offered this sacrifice, he turns to the people 
and says : " lie missa est," go, the sacrifice is offered, it is consummated. 
Jesus said this offertory in the sacrifice which he celebrated on the cross, 
when he prayed to his Father : Father, forgive them, accept this sacrifice 
as an expiation for the sins of the world," and the " Ite missa est" he 
sang when he said, " It is consummated." 

O the great and consoling words: It is consummated. But what is con- 
summated ? The sacrifice of atonement, the sacrifice of salvation, the sacri- 
fice of redemption. Mankind is saved, unbarred are the portals of heaven, 
and closed is the prison of hell. Sin is atoned for, the victim has van- 
quished. It is consummated, hear it, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth. 
Heavenly Father, the holy sacrifice is consummated which appeases thy 
anger, satisfies thy justice, and completes thy plan with the world. Thy 
creatures are ransomed, thy honor restored, peace established between 
heaven and earth. Now on Calvary, as once on Bethlehem's plains may 
radiant spirits chant: Gloria in excelsis. It is consummated. From hence- 
forth the mansions of bliss rendered vacant by the fall of the apostate 
angels, will be the happy abode of men rescued from the power of Satan. 
It is consummated, hear it, O man, your debt is cancelled, the curse is 
effectually taken away, God is again your father and friend, heaven your 
inheritance, the devil can no longer harm you, you are delivered from 
eternal death. It is consummated, namely, the work which the Prophets 
had foretold, which the Patriarchs had foreshadowed, for behold here the 
true Abel, who by his brethren is led out to the field and cruelly deprived 
of his innocent life; behold here the true Noe, who is mocked by his sons 
in his nakedness; behold here the true Joseph with his coat dipped in the 
blood of his humanity; behold here the true Isaac, who not only carried on 
his shoulders the wood for the sacrifice, but who is also the victim on the 
wood; behold the brazen serpent of Moses, by whom every one that looks up 
is saved; behold here the true Moses, the Mediator between God and his 
people; the true High-priest Aaron, who offers himself; behold the Lamb of 
God, that taketh away the sins of the world. It is consummated, what thy 
eternal wisdom had decreed, what thy divine justice had demanded; what 
the mercy of Jesus had promised; the Angels rejoice, the Patriarchs exult 
in their prison house, and hell trembles, the prince of this world is defeated, 
he skulks back to his dismal abode, and ransomed humanity triumphs. 

But scarce has the world received these joyful tidings: It is consummated, 
when a heart-rending voice is heard from the cross: Father, into thy hands 
I commend my spirit. But why ? Oh may that sun over whose shining 



196 Lenten Sermons. 

face a sombre shadow has fallen tell you why. May the rocks that are 
rent, as it were, out of compassion, may the earth which is moved to its 
very depths with pity, may the dead who come forth from the narrow prison 
house of the tomb, may the veil of the temple which is rent from the top 
to the bottom, may the most afflicted Virgin Mother tell you the reason. 
Oh Mother of God, why has thy Son cried out in so doleful a manner. 
Alas, exclaims this weeping mother, he has died the bitter death of the 
cross, died for all, bowing down his head, he gave up the ghost. Thus 
our Lord died on the cross. Mourn, O sun, for the Sun of Justice has 
died, be extinguished, O light of heaven, for the divine Light \s extinguished, 
tremble, O earth, for thy Lord and God has returned his soul into the hands 
of his Father. 

PERORATION. 

You know why he died ? He died for the sins of the world. Do 
you not yet understand the enormity and grievousness of sin ? When, 
if not at present, will you learn to loathe and abhor your sins which have 
crucified Jesus. When our Saviour died, rocks were rent and the people 
returned to Jerusalem striking their breasts. Will you alone remain un- 
moved? Look at the wounded body of Jesus, the Lord has made a vin- 
tage of him, as he said in the day of his fierce anger. What more could 
the Son of God do for you, that he has not done ? You deserved death, 
but he died for you, that you may live. Does he not merit your undivided 
love and affection ? Oh love this sweet Jesus with your whole heart and 
soul, renounce sin, fall on your knees and pray: Sweet Jesus from the depth 
of our misery we sinners cry to thee, Lord hear our supplication for mercy 
and grace. We hate and detest, we bewail and lament our sins. In thee, 
O crucified Jesus, we place [all our hope and confidence, for with thee is 
redemption; thou hast redeemed Jacob, and Israel is glorified. Lord 
Jesus, save us, strengthen our faith, and inflame us with the fire of charity, 
that we may live and die in thy love. Amen. 



The Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross. 



(SKELETON SERMONS.) 



FIFTH COURSE. 



SEVEN SERMONS. 



LENTEN (SKELETON) SERMONS, 



The Seven Last Words On The Cross. 



THE FIRST WORD. 



" Father, forgive them, for they know 
not what they do." Luke 23 : 24. 

"Hear ye him " (Mt. 17 : 5), said a voice out of the cloud at the trans- 
figuration of Jesus Christ. "One is your Master, Christ," declared Jesus 
of himself. — Mt. 23 : 10. As our master and teacher he still addresses 
salutary words to our hearts from the cross, the first of which is : 
' ' Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. " This first word of 
our Saviour contains : 

I. A PETITION. 

i. To whom did Jesus address this petition? To his heavenly Father. 
This is an example for us : Do we act in a like manner ? As a general 
rule, God is the last being, whose help we implore, and, then, not before 
we have sought it from men in vain. — Only in the Holy Ghost can we call 
God our Father. "You have received the spirit of adoption of sons, 
whereby we cry: "Abba (Father)." — Rom. 4: 6. "Because you are 
sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying : 
"Abba, Father." — Gal. 4: 6. We have God for our Father, inasmuch 
as we have the Holy Ghost in our hearts. The Holy Ghost abiding in our 
hearts manifests itself by holy deeds. "For whosoever are led by the 
Spirit of God (to perform good works), they are the sons of God. " — Rom. 
8 : 14. "But the fruit of the Spirit (the works to the performing of which 
he leads) is charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, 
mildness, continency, chastity." — Gal. 5:22. Is this fruit of the Holy 
Ghost in our hearts ? If not, are we children of God ? 

2. For what did Jesus pray? To obtain forgiveness for his enemies. Let 
us meditate. 



200 Lenten Sermons. 

(a) On the incomprehensible charity of Jesus toward his enemies. He 
prays in the extremity of suffering for the salvation of those who are intent 
only on increasing his sufferings. He prays, before the mouths of the blas- 
phemers are silenced, and before he addresses his Blessed Mother and his 
beloved disciple in their grief. His word is a word of reconciliation. 

(b) On our duty to follow his example. All men, especially those 
""who will live piously in Christ Jesus" (i. Tim. 3 : 12) have their 
enemies. Respecting them we received the precept of Jesus Christ : 
"Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you; and pray for 
them that persecute and calumniate you." — Mt. 5: 44. According to 
this rule we are obliged to forsake all hatred and indignation, and to wish 
our enemies good from our hearts ; to manifest by our actions this senti- 
ment of benevolence, and to pray for our enemies. Have you, heretofore, 
acted toward your enemies in this manner ? 

(c) On the severity with which the love of our enemies has been 
inculcated on us. Call to mind the parable of the unmerciful servant, 
with the concluding sentence : "So also shall my heavenly Father do to 
you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts." 
— Mt. 18 : 35. 

(d) On the grand promise connected with fulfillment of this command. 
"That you may be the children of your Father, who is in heaven: who 
maketh the sun rise upon the good, and the bad, and raineth upon 
the just and the unjust." — Mt. 5 : 45. 

(e) On the great meritoriousness of loving our enemies. It is a work of 
penance and self-denial, more generous and meritorious than the severest 
discipline and fasting. 

3. For whom did Jesus pray P For his enemies and tormentors. 

(a) For all those who assisted in crucifying him and for those who cal- 
umniated and blasphemed him. He hastened to be their intercessor to 
hinder the punishment due for such a wicked deed. 

(b) For us, also, who by our sins crucify again the Son of God, and 
make a mockery of him. — Heb. 6 : 6. Let us repent of our sins as being 
the cause of his crucifixion ; let us implore his intercession with the 
Father. 

II. AN EXCUSE. 

" They know not what they do." Why did Jesus add these words to his 
petition ? 



Lenten Sermons. 20 1 

1. To inspire us with great confidence in his mercy. Jesus on the cross 
excuses the sinner before his heavenly Father. How great a consolation in 
the depressing remembrance of our past sins ! "Who is he that shall 
condemn ? Christ Jesus who died, yea, who rose also again, who is at 
the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." — Rom. 
8 : 34. "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 
Christ the just." — 1. John 2:1. Let us always remember the charity of 
Jesus to us poor sinners. He does not remind his heavenly Father of our 
wickedness, but makes excuses for our frailty and ignorance. Let us 
thank him for his exuberant charity. Far be it from us to excuse ourselves 
before God ! Let us implore Jesus to do it for us. 

2. To set a good example. Behold the meekness and patience of Jesus, 
who at least excuses what he cannot deny. Let us resolve to follow him in 
this regard, for which purpose the following considerations may serve : 

1. Few are those Christians who follow Jesus in this regard, excusing 
those who have trespassed against them. How have you borne offences 
heretofore ? You make a great deal of talk about them, and are too 
ready to charge your neighbor with malice. Repent of this weakness. 

2. Such conduct is a proof of your imperfection and sinfulness. 
" Charity thinketh no evil. " — 1. Cor. 13: 5. A heart so prone to think 
evil must be void of charity. 

3. It is generous and salutary to excuse to ourselves all offences 
inflicted on us. "With what judgment you have judged, you shall be 
judged ; and with what measure you have measured, it shall be measured 
to you again." — Mt. 7 : 2. 

peroration. 

Let us ponder on the first word upon the cross. It makes known to us 
the charity of Christ, which surpasseth knowledge (Eph. 3 : 19) that charity 
which "many waters cannot quench ; neither can the floods drown it." — 
Cant. 8:7. It inculcates on our minds the love of our enemies : " Love 
your enemies : do good to them that hate you ; and pray for them that 
persecute and calumniate you." — Mt. 5 : 44- Our crucified Master was 
not like those "who have sat in the chair of Moses, and say, and do 
not," (Mt. 23 : 2, 3) ; but "he hath prayed for the transgressor." — Is. 
53 : 12. The efficacy of this prayer is apparent by the conversion of many 
of the bystanders, by the centurion confessing: "Indeed this man was 
the Son of God," (Mk. 15 : 39) ; by the multitude striking their breasts 
(Lk. 23 : 48), and by three thousand souls being added on the day of 
Pentecost — Apoc. 2 : 41. Verily our High-Priest "in the days of his 
flesh, offering up prayers and supplications, with a strong cry and tears, 
to him that was able to save him from death, was heard for his reverence." 
— Heb. 5 : 7. 



202 Lenten Sermons. 

II. 
THE SECOND WORD. 



"Amen, I say to thee, this day thou shalt be 
with me in paradise." Luke 23 : 34. 

"He was reputed with the wicked," said the evangelist of the Old 
Testament; (Is. 53 : 12), and Mark the evangelist, (15 : 28), when men- 
tioning that they crucified two thieves with him, refers expressly to the 
fulfillment of the above prophecy. Whilst one of them reviled the Saviour, 
the other, repenting of his crimes, addressed Jesus, whom he acknowl- 
edged to be the Messias, in the following words : "Lord, remember me, 
when thou shalt come into thy kingdom ; " whereupon the Saviour of all 
men opened his mouth saying : "Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt 
be with me in paradise. " What a consoling promise, worthy indeed of 
being the object of our meditation ! 

I. WHAT WAS PROMISED IN THESE WORDS? 

1. The kingdom of heaven. Jesus promises the thief to take him 
into paradise, i. e., to grant him the vision of God. To all of us 
the same promise was then made, if we not only say, Lord, Lord, but if 
we do the will of the Father who is in heaven (Mt. 7 : 21) ; for this is the 
will of God, your sanctification. " We are not to partake of great 
rewards but by great efforts." St Gregory. From this it is evident that 

{a) We must comply with the condition ; sanctifying ourselves by avoid- 
ing sin and the proximate occasions of sin, and by performing good works, 
particularly by fulfilling the duties of our state of life. How have you 
complied with this condition heretofore ? How will you comply with it 
for the future ? 

(b) We must not allow this our hope of heaven to degenerate into pre- 
sumption. Baptism alone will not save you, nor the recitation of certain 
prayers, nor a so-called honest life not contaminated with public crimes ; 
but, seriously intent upon our sanctification, "we must work our sal- 
vation with fear and trembling. " — Phil. 2 : 12. 

2. The compa?iionship of fesus. "Thou shalt be with me in Paradise. " 
He promises the thief not only heaven, but the most intimate union with 
himself : As thou art now with me on the cross, so thou shalt be with me 



Lenten Sermons. 205 

this day in my own joy. All of us are destined for the same divine union. 
" Where I am, there also shall my ministers be." — John 12 : 26. " In my 
Father's house there are many mansions. * * I go to prepare a place 
for you. And if I shall go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
again, and will take you to myself; that where I am, you also may be." 
— John 14 : 2. Reflect. 

(a) How exceedingly glorious and consoling is this our destiny ! To be 
with Jesus in the enjoyment of his tender affections and friendship ; to 
partake of his glory ; to behold Jesus in his incomprehensible beauty ; 
to know him, and to be known by him. 

(b) The condition of this future union. To be with Jesus in our 
temporal life, to concentrate our thoughts on him, to keep his command- 
ments, to imitate his example, to devote ourselves entirely to him. Have 
we complied with this condition in our past life? Contrition. Implore 
his grace, that by being here with him, you may be found worthy of being 
with him hereafter. 

3. This kingdom and companionship of Jesus will come to us very soon. — 

"This day thou shalt be with me in paradise." We all have to appear 

before Jesus our Judge, if not this day, at least so soon that it seems to be 

this day. This consideration may inculcate on our mind three rules full 

of wisdom: — 

(a) Flee all sins without delay, and defer not your repentance. " Delay 
not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day." — 
Eccles. 5 : 8. For how many years have you been buried in the mire of 
sin? "To-day if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts." 
— Ps. 94 : 8. 

(b) Bear all afflictions with patience. "For our present tribulation 
which is momentary and light, worketh for us above measure exceedingly 
an eternal weight of glory." — 2 Cor. 4 : 17. This day the thief entered 
from the torments of the cross into the joys of paradise. Oh ! that we 
were ashamed of our pusillanimity ! 

(c) Make conscientious use of your time. "The night cometh, when 
no man can work." — John 9 , 4. And how have you employed your time? 
How many days of your life without fruit, without a good work for 
heaven ! How many days and years spent in sin ! Let us amend our 
lives ! 



204 Lenten Sermons. 

ii. who made this promise ? 

Jesus on the Cross, when being reviled and blasphemed. Hence you 
become more convinced : — 

i. Of his infinite love towards sinners. He does not think of his own 
unspeakable sufferings, when the salvation of one penitent sinner is at 
stake. We, on the contrary, shun small efforts and inconveniences, when 
our neighbor is in distress. Let us make the firm resolution to assist our 
fellow-man in his needs. 

2. Of his divine omnipotence. A thief becomes so great a penitent that 
Jesus promises him that "this day" he shall be with him in paradise. 
" This is the change of the right hand of the Most High." — Ps. 76 : 11. 
This omnipotence is manifested when Jesus appears in his deepest debase- 
ment. Nailed to the cross and being at the brink of death, he shows his 
divine power by the conversion of this sinner. How great is the virtue of 
the cross ! Let us embrace it with faithful confidence, that we also may 
experience its virtue. 

III. TO WHOM WAS THIS PROMISE MADE ? 

1. Truly, to a great sinner. — No one need despair of divine grace and 
mercy. God is the Father who sees the returning son, when he is yet a great 
way off, and embraces him — Luke 15: 20. He is the good Shepherd who 
goes after the lost sheep, and lays it upon his shoulders, rejoicing. — 5 : 4. 
It is he who " desireth not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked 
turn from his way and live" (Ezech. 33 : 11); who says : "God so loved 
the world, as to give his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not his 
son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved 
by him." — John 3 : 16. 

Do we entertain a great confidence in the Lord ? Or do we think with 
Cain : " My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon ? " — Gen. 
4 : 13. Or are we to despair with Judas? Trust in Jesus. One drop of 
his precious blood would have been sufficient to take away the sins of the 
whole world ; and now he has poured out all his blood. 

2. But to a sincere penitent also. He was deeply grieved over his sins 
which he publicly confesses : " We receive the due reward of our deeds. " 
— Luke 23 : 41. He puts his confidence in Jesus whom he addresses 
without delay as his Lord. He suffers the rest of his time with the 
patience and resignation of a penitent. Such is the efficacy of penance 



Lenten Sermons. 205 

based on our confidence in Jesus. The thief obtains remission of all sins 
and of all punishment due for them, and even the joys and happiness of 
paradise. Let us also do penance, and turn our mind from evil to good. 

PERORATION. 

"Only remember me, when it shall be well with thee, and do me this 
kindness; to put Pharao in mind to take me out of this prison," said 
Joseph to the chief butler." — Gen. 40 : 14. " But the chief butler, when 
things prospered with him, forgot his interpreter." — 40. 5 : 23. Not so 
Jesus, who made and kept a consoling promise to a malefactor, a great 
sinner, and sincere penitent, and so encouraged our hope and confidence. 
"The Lord taketh pleasure in them that hope in his mercy." — 
Ps. 146 ; 11. 



III. 
THE THIRD WORD. 



''Behold thy son! Behold thy 
mother!" John ig: 26, 27. 

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's 
sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." — John 19: 25. The 
greater the love of a soul to Jesus, the nearer she is to his Cross. 
Accordingly his Blessed Mother stood the nearest to the Cross, her heroic 
soul not fearing offences and insults, — the leader of souls, loving God. 
"When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother, and the disciple standing, 
whom he loved, he saith to his mother : Woman, behold thy son ! After 
that, he saith to the disciple : Behold thy mother ! " — John 19 : 26. This 
is the third word of Jesus upon the Cross, the last will and testament of our 
dying Saviour. Let this third word be the subject of our meditation. 

Part I. 

THE WORDS ADDRESSED TO MARY. 

" Woman, behold thy son!" — 

1. Consider first the inner sentiment expressed by these words : A sen- 
timent of compassion for his Mother, who stood by the Cross, the grief of her 
heart being great as the sea. "To what shall I compare thee, or to what 
shall I liken thee, O daughter of Jerusalem ? For great as the sea is thy deso- 
lation." — Lam. 2: 13. Like Jesus we should come to the assistance of the 
suffering. Or have we no consoling word for the afflicted, no soothing word 



206 Lenten Sermons. 

for the dejected ? If you have been wanting in this regard, repent of your 
hard-heartedness, and make firm resolutions for the future. How good 
and salutary is compassion for our neighbor's grief ! It is one of the 
principal virtues. Its reward is heaven. Call to mind the sentence at the 
Last Judgment. 

2. A sentiment of filial love and gratitude. His grateful heart could not 
forget what she had been to him for thirty-three years, what she had suf- 
fered for his sake : Joseph's uneasiness ; the journey into Bethlehem ; the 
disdain in the city of David ; the flight into Egypt ; the three day's search- 
ing. With filial solictude he confides her to his disciple whom he loves, 
being of all the most qualified to replace him, and to make the grief for 
her exceedingly great loss more bearable. 

Your conduct toward your parents, ye children, should be similar. 
Acknowledge what they are to you. Rejoice their hearts. Support and 
console them in sickness, and in old age, on their death bed. Have you 
no reason to reproach yourselves in this regard ? 

2. Consider the meaning of these words. "Woman," not "mother," 
that by this sweet name he may not increase her grief. So tender is true 
love, as to cause no unnecessary pain. How many occasions have been 
offered to us to appease our neighbor's wrath, to sooth his afflictions ! And 
we have made no use of them. 

'• Behold thy son!" Jesus whom she had carried in her womb with inde- 
scribable delight, who, when a bright boy, had been smiling at her with 
the sweet smile of a child ; who, being the best of sons, had rejoiced 
his mother's heart ; now suffering unspeakable agony on the Cross. — John 
henceforth her son instead of Jesus ; the son of the poor fisherman instead 
of the Son of God ; the disciple instead of the Master ; a subject instead 
of the King ; a servant instead of the Lord ; a feeble man instead of the 
Almighty. 

When God deprived you of what was the dearest to your heart, did 
you resign yourself to the adorable will of God ? Perhaps your heart was 
distracted from God. Jacob, the Patriarch was separated from his son 
Joseph, because he loved him above all of his sons, and more than he 
ought to have done injustice to his other children. 

Part II. 

THE WORDS OF JESUS ADDRESSED TO JOHN. 

' ' Behold thy mother ! " These words contain : 

i. A sweet consolation for St. John. The more he loved his divine 
Master, the deeper was his grief at his loss. Jesus seeing his great sorrow, 
says to him : "Behold thy mother ! " i. e., I know the torments of love 



Lenten Sermons. 207 

in thy heart. Thou art in need of consolation after my departure. So 
let my Mother be thy mother, she will console and encourage thee. 

For all pious Christiaiis. The word addressed to John is addressed to 
them also. He represented to them his own mother as their mother. 
When you are forsaken by men, depressed in consequence of great suffer- 
ings, when you are attacked by the enemy of mankind, when you struggle 
with death ; raise up your eyes to Mary, your mother, who protects you 
and intercedes for you. Put a son's confidence in her, and commit your- 
self to her maternal care. When St. Therese, at the age of twelve years, 
was bereft of her mother, she implored in burning tears the Blessed Virgin 
to be henceforth her mother and protectress. And St. Therese experienced 
the special protection of the Blessed Virgin in all her needs. 

2. A great commandment. 

(a) St. John was by the words of Jesus obliged to regard Mary as his 
mother, to treat her as such, to obey and love her. He fulfilled the 
will of his Master, conscientiously, for "from that hour the disciple took 
her to his own." — John 19 : 27. 

{b) We are under the same obligation to regard Mary as our mother, to 
honor, love, and follow her. Have we been conscientious in complying 
with this demand of our Saviour? Let us repent of our carelessness in 
her service ; let us make the firm resolution to perform a good work in 
her honor every day ; as to recite the rosary, the Litany, or her office. 

PERORATION. 

Such is the last will and testament of our dying Saviour. Resigned to 
the divne will, his Virgin Mother accepted it as the handmaid of the Lord, 
unto whom it should be done according to his word. The disciple kept 
sacred his Master's will. Let us also regard Mary with reverence ; let us 
trust in her protection in life and death. 



208 Lenten Sermons. 

IV. 
THE FOURTH WORD. 



"My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me ?" Mt. 27 : 46. 

"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth, until the 
ninth hour," (Mt. 27 : 45), an extraordinary darkness, not caused by the 
course of nature by which God intended to manifest his indignation at the 
wicked deed, by which the Sun of Justice was darkened, and by which, at 
the same time, Jesus was to be glorified, the sun in the heavens bewailing his 
death, and communicating its mourning to all nature. Let us, in the 
shadow of this mysterious darkness, meditate on Jesus being forsaken of 
his Father, when about the ninth hour he cried with a loud voice, saying : 
" Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani ? " that is, "My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me P" — Mt. 27 : 46. If we inquire after the causes which occa- 
sioned this great sadness in the soul of Jesus, they are the following : 

1. his ineffable bodily pains without any relief. 

His head crowned with thorns. He cannot lean it againt the Cross with- 
out increasing its pains. — His wounds on his hands and feet expand more 
and more. His wounds are his only support. — His body is bruised and 
fatigued. "Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows 
and acquainted with infirmity. We have thought him, as it were, a leper." 

—Is. 53 : 3> 4. 

His exclamation. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? is not 
so much a lamentation, as a prayer and necessary utterance of his excru- 
ciating pains, by which he intended to manifest his being true man capable 
of suffering. Besides, he called attention to Psalm 21, wherein the Pas- 
sion of the Messias is described, the beginning of which he recites : "O 
God, my God; look upon me : why hast thou forsaken me ? " Let us 
also pray, when we are visited with sufferings and afflictions. "Is any one 
of you sad ? Let him pray." — James 5 : 13. 

II. ABSENCE OF CONSOLATION HIS SOUL. 

Jesus wanted to be " tempted in all things, like as we are," (Hebr. 4 : 
15). " For in that, wherein he himself hath suffered and been tempted, he 
is able to succour those also, who are tempted," — Hebr. 2 : 18. Therefore 
he was willing to be bereft of all consolation. Consider : 



Lenten Sermons. 209 

1. The greatness of this suffering. On earth he sees no one to speak 
comfort to him. No angel descends from heaven to console and 
strengthen him. 

2. The end to be obtained. 

(a) It is an atonement for our unfaithfulnes to God ; 

In general for all mankind. "They are all gone aside, they are become 
unprofitable together : there is none that doeth good, no not one." — Ps. 
!3 • 3- "They turned away, and kept not the covenant." — Ps. J? : 57. 
" These men have not known my ways : so I swore in my wrath that they 
shall not enter into my rest," — Ps. 94 : n. 

In particular for your unfaithfulness. How many times have you 
promised to serve God only, and yet you turned your affections to the 
creature again ; to serve him only, and yet you offended him again. How 
often have you sworn to shun the familiar occasions of sin, and yet have 
returned to them ? Thank Jesus for his atonement ; repent and amend. 

(b) It is a model for us when we are in a similar condition. This kind 
of suffering is the prerogative of pious souls. In this state were St. 
Francis of Assisi during the three years preceding his death, St. Catharine 
of Siena, St. Francis of Sales, St. Therese and many others. In this state 
the soul finds no consolation, no delight in prayer and devout exercises ; 
she thinks herself forsaken of God. 

In this state of mind we should follow Jesus, who investigated into the 
course of it: "Why hast thou forsaken me?" It is either a gracious 
trial for the purpose of granting us more abundant graces ; or a deserved 
punishment for our unfaithfulness, Bear this state with patience. Jesus 
says not : My Father, but my God, to express clearly his resignation to 
the will of God. Let us not become despondent ; let us not give up our 
devout exercises. This resignation is acquired by prayer. 

III. HIS BEING FORSAKEN BY HIS DISCIPLES. 

I. By his Cross Jesus would draw all things to himself, — John 12 : 32. 
This desire was completely fulfilled. 

(a) The by-standers are obdurate, or mock and blaspheme. His 
own disciples stand afar off. 

(b) In all future times he sees the same continually repeated. He 
foresees thousands and millions apostates from his doctrine, innumerable 
Christians not living up to their faith : entire nations hostile to the Gospel. 



210 Lenten Sermons. 

(c) Have we not been also the cause of the sad disconsolate state of 
our Saviour on the Cross? We have sinned grievously and repeatedly, 
have refused to drink the cup of sorrow, have been so tardy in performing 
good actions, listening to the revilings of the world, the enemy of Jesus 
Christ. Let us repent of our ingratitude from the depth of our hearts, 

peroration. 

We all are to experience a similar state of despondency, to that expe- 
rienced by Jesus who was forsaken by God and men. This anguish will 
befall us at the hour of death. Let us lift our eyes to Jesus who, by his 
forsakenness on the Cross, has diminished the terrors of death. Oh ! let us 
cling to Jesus in good days, that he may not forsake us in the evil day. Let 
us often cry out to him : " When my strength shall fail,, do not thou forsake 
me" — Ps. 70 : 8. And whenever we pray to the Mother of sorrows who 
stood by the Cross, being a witness of her Son's anguish, let us pray with 
devotion and fervor : " Pray for us now, and at the hour of our death, 
Amen. " 



V. 
THE FIFTH WORD. 



' ' / thirst. " John 19: 28. 

The fifth word upon the Cross is another manifestation of the ineffable 
pains of Jesus. " Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, 
that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said : I thirst. Now there was a 
vessel set there full of vinegar. And they, putting a sponge full of vin- 
egar about hyssop, offered it to his mouth." — John 19: 28, 29. The fifth 
word upon the Cross admits of a literal, and of a mystical sense. 

Part I. 
THE literal sense. 
1. The excruciating pain of his thirst. 

(a) Thirst in general is in itself a very excruciating pain, producing 
more tormenting effects upon body and mind than even hunger. It is still 
more vehement when produced in consequence of wounds, or in the last 
hours of the death struggle, when it is increased in consequence of 
internal fever. 



Lenten Sermons. 211 

(5) For special reasons the thirst of the Saviour must have been 
infinitely great, and more painful than it ever could be in the experience of 
man. Remember his Passion and loss of blood on Mount Olivet, at the 
scourging, crowning with thorns, at the carrying of the Cross, during the 
three hours of unutterable torments on the Cross ; his anguish of soul. 
"My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to 
my jaws; and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death." 
— Ps. 21 : 16. 

(c) Let us have compassion on the Saviour in his burning thirst, and 
reflect on the anguish of the Mother of Sorrows who, at the lamentation of 
her Son, suffered incomparably more than Hagar, who could not see her 
child dying with thirst. 

2. The motives inducing our Saviour to suffer this thirst : 

(a) That the Scripture might be fulfilled. All prophecies were fulfilled 
but one : "In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." — Ps. 68 : 22. 
How unlike are we to him ! He is so anxious to fulfill the will of his 
heavenly Father, and we are so tardy in complying with our most 
important duties. 

(3) That he might atone for our sins of the palate. Men sin in many ways 
by eating anddrinking. The greatest sinners among them are the drunkards, 
" they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink off their cups." — 
Prov. 23 : 30. The time will come, when in hell they will long for one 
drop of water, but in vain. 

3. The w r ording itself teaches us in what manner we should make our 

sufferings known to others : 

(a) He discovers his burning thirst at the last moment. He has com- 
passion on others, before he provides for himself. 

{b) He does not use many words, nor does he lament, whilst we relate 
our sufferings with minuteness and exaggeration. 

Part II. 

the mystical sense. 

Greater still 'was r the spritual thirst of Jesus. He was more anxious to 
have it stilled, than to have his mouth moistened. To what was the desire 

of the thirsting Saviour directed ? 



212 Lenten Sermons. 

i. To fulfill the wilt of his heavenly Father. What was his food in his 
lifetime is changed into thirst on the Cross ; as if he would say : "I long 
to do the will of him that sent me, that I may perfect his works." 
—John 4: 34- 

(a) How great was the virtue of obedience ' ! His whole life from the 
first moment of becoming a man to the last, when he gave up the ghost, 
was an uninterrupted, perfect sacrifice of obedience, in order to redeem us 
poor children of Adam from the sin and punishment of disobedience. — 
Rom. 5 : 19; Philip 2 : 8, 9. For the sake of obedience he even did the 
will of his tormentors. — Luke 2 : 21. Isa. 50 : 5, 6. 

(b) Our hearts should be actuated with a similar readiness to execute 
the will of God. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice for 
they shall be filled." — Mt. 5 : 6. But how little inclined are men, 
especially young people, to subject themselves to proper authority. 

2. To suffer for us. By sufferings our Lord sought what was lost ; 
hence this thirst for more pains, that all men might partake of everlasting 
joys. 

(a) This manifests the abundance of his charity towards us. One 
drop of his blood, one tear of his divine eyes, one prayer from his lips, 
would have been sufficient to redeem the whole world, nay, thousands 
of worlds. Yet he is willing to drink more bitterness, if it contributes 
to our salvation. 

(b) We should have a similar desire, we whose inheritance, is suffering. 
If the Lord desires affliction, why not his servants ? If the innocent, why 
not the guilty ? The Christian heroes and heroines were very desirous of 
suffering, as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Pius V, St. Therese, St. Magdalene 
of Pazzi, Aut pati, aut mori. 

3. To save all men. He came into the world, that all might be saved ; 
and from his Cross he would draw all things to himself. Now the time 
had arrived, when all mankind were to be drawn to the Crucified. 

(a) The sinner, that he may be converted, and live. The Saviour on 
the Cross cries out : I thirst for thy tears of repentance, O impenitent 
sinner ! For thy fear of God, O frivolous sinner ! For thy modesty, O 
shameless sinner ! For thy humility, O proud sinner ! 

(b) The just that they may be justified the more. He thirsted for their 
increase in virtue, for their perfection and zeal in performing good works. 
He thirsted for the obedience of good children, the solicitude of parents, 
the peace of families. 



Lenten Sermons. 213 

(c) All human hearts, that, thirsting after truth and salvation, they 
may come to him and drink out of the fountain of living waters (John 7 : 
37), that by faith and charity they may belong to him who "also hath 
loved us, and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice 
to God, for an odor of sweetness." — -Eph. 5:2; and that they may say 
in truth : "As the hart panteth after the fountains of waters ; so my 
soul panteth after thee, O God." — Ps. 47 : 2. 

Where is our zeal of penance and virtue ? Where are our works for the 
honor of Jesus, for our salvation and the salvation of our neighbor? 
"One pants after silver and gold, another after a rich inheritance, a third 
after honors, and scarcely one is found who can say : My soul panteth 
after thee, O Lord ! They pant, but not after God. " — St. Augustine. 

PEROEATION. 

Let us implore the Mother of Sorrows in consideration of her grief at 
seeing "vinegar offered to her Son's mouth " (John 19 : 29) to obtain for 
us the gift of tears, so that we may shed tears of penance for our sins, and 
tears of gratitude and love for our Saviour ; and so by quenching his thirst, 
we may on the Day of Judgment hear the consoling sentence : "I was 
thirsty and you gave me to drink. " 



214 Lenten Sermons, 

VI. 
THE SIXTH WORD, 



1 ' 7? is consummated. " 
— John 19: 30. 

" When Jesus, therefore, had taken the vinegar, he said : ' ' It is consum- 
mated," a very important and instructive word out of the mouth of our 
dying Saviour. 

Part I. 

WHAT JESUS HAS CONSUMATED. 

i. The Scripture. In its prophecies concerning him, particularly his 
sufferings : 

(a) His seizure and the flight of the disciples. "Christ the Lord is 
taken in our sins." — Lam. 4 : 20. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep 
shall be scattered. " — Zach. 13: 7. 

(b) The betrayal by Judas. ' ' Even the man of my peace, in whom 
I trusted, who ate my bread, hath greatly supplanted me.', — Ps. 40 : 10. 
"And they weighed' for my wages thirty pieces of silver." — Zach. 11 ; 12. 

(c) His flagellation, derision and crucifixion. "We have thought 
him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But he 
was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins : the chastise- 
ment of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed." — 
Isai. 53 : 4. "I am a worm, and no man, the reproach of men and the 
outcast of the people. All that saw me have laughed me to scorn ; they 
have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head. * * They have dug my 
hands and feet. They have numbered all my bones. * * * They 
parted my garments amongst them ; and upon my vesture they cast lots." 
— Ps. 21:7. 

In its types of the Messias : 

Isaac carrying on his shoulders the wood for the sacrifice. — Gen. 22 : 6. 

Joseph being sold by his brethren. — Gen. $7 : 28. 

The Brazen Serpent in the desert. — Numb. 21 : 8. 

The Paschal Lamb. — Exod. 12:5. 

2. All is consumated : 

His vocation of being the Good Shepherd. 



Lenten Sermons. 215 

He procured for his flock the best pasture by his doctrine, example and 
grace, by his precious blood and the institution of his Church. 

Let us learn from him to be faithful in performing the duties of our 
vocation, so that at the end of our lives we may say also : — It is con- 
summated. Reflect : 

(a) On the stern obligations of fulfilling the duties of our state of life, 
as it is set forth in the parable on the talents." — Mt. 35 : 14. 

(b) On the solicitude required. We should fulfill our duties perfectly 
(not indifferently or inadvertently) and for the promotion of God's glory. 

(c) On the reward : Peace of heart, God's complacency, heavenly 
glory. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant ; because thou hast 
been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou 
into the joy of the Lord," — Mt. 25 : 21. Oh that we might have cause to 
say at the close of each day : It is consummated ! Contrition. Good 
resolutions. 

3. His life. Now was the moment when Jesus was to give his life for 
our salvation, after he had fulfilled the Scripture and the task of his life. 

The hour will, sooner or later, come for us also, when "it is con- 
summated," when life is over. 

(a) The sinner will pronounce this word in great anguish, at the sight 
of his many sins and vices. " It is consummated ! " — a life destitute of virtue, 
of sincere conversion, full of vanity and sins. The transient joys, perish- 
able riches, and vain honors, are past. The time for salvation is past ; the 
measure of sins is full to the brim ; an everlasting life commences — in 
hell. Have we no reason to fear the fate of a sinner ? Let us do penance 
without delay. Let us implore God for his grace and assistance. 

(b) The sincere Christian will pronounce it in sacred joy and with a 
cheerful heart. " It is consummated" — a life of grace well employed, a 
holy life, acceptable in the sight of God. The afflictions, sufferings, and 
severities of penance are over. The combat against world, flesh and devil 
is fought. Revilings and calumnies are no more. The life of an innoeent 
or penitent soul is consummated. " I have fought a good fight ; I have 
finished my course ; I have kept the faith. For the rest there is laid up for 
me the crown of justice, which the Lord the just judge will render to me at 
that day." — 2. Tim. 4 : 7. Have we any claim to this consolation? Let 
us decide at once for a short penance, for the narrow road. Let us pray 
for divine grace, especially for the grace of perseverance. 



216 Lenten Sermons.. 

Part II. 

HOW MUCH JESUS HAD TO SUFEER BEFORE HE COULD SAY : (< IT IS 

CONSUMMATED." 

1. His entire life was an uninterrupted suffering. 

(a) In his earliest childhood, suffering was the share of his inheri- 
tance. The stable at Bethlehem. The persecution by Herod. The flight 
into Egypt. 

(6) His hidden life at Nazareth was a life of poverty, want, and hard 
work. 

(c) His public life was full of hardships, perils, and persecutions. 

(d) At the evening of his life his sufferings were completed on the 
mount of Olivet, up to Calvary, till he could say at last : "It is con- 
summated ! " 

2. Therefrom we draw the following conclusions : 

(a) Afflictions and sufferings are necessary for man, as sequels of sin. 
"Cursed is the earth in thy work; with labor and toil shalt thou eat 
thereof all the days of thy life. " — Gen 3:17. 

(&) As tests of our virtue. "As gold in the furnace he hath proved 
them; and as a victim of a holocaust he hath received them/' — Wisd. 
3 : 6. "Tribulation worketh patience, and patience trial." — Rom. 5 : 3. 
Joseph's virtue was tested and proved in Egypt, and in the prison; 
Tobias's virtue was tested by blindness. 

(c) As an indispensable condition for the kingdom of God. "Ought 
not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory ? " 
— Luke 24: 56. "Through many tribulations we must enter into the king- 
dom of God." — Act. 14: 21. "Abraham said to Dives in hell : "Son, re- 
member that thou didst receive good things in thy lifetime, but now thou 
art tormented. " — Luke 16: 25. Let us, therfore, when we are afflicted, 
praise divine Providence. 

3. Sufferings and afflictions are profitable. 

(a) They afford us an opportunity of showing our confidence in divine 
Providence. The greater the storm, the deeper does the tree take root. 
The firmness of faith shone the brightest in the martyrs and confessors. 



Lenten Sermons. 217 

(b) They detach our hearts from earthly things. Our heart is more or 
less alienated from God by terrestrial things. ''Where thy treasure is, there 
is thy heart also." — Mt. 6 : 21. Afflictions are the cutting-knife in the 
hands of the heavenly physician. 

(c) They are a suitable means of mortification. Man is not inclined to 
mortify himself, and when he mortifies himself, he is often partly led by 
self-love. 

4. We profit by sufferings and afflictions, if we 

(a) Accept them in faith, by being convinced that divine Providence has 
sent them. "A hair of your head shall not perish." — Luke 21 : 18. 
"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of 
the Lord." — Job. 1:21. " Blessed are they that mourn." — Mt. 5 : 5. 

(b) Bear them with patience. " In your patience you shall possess 
your souls." — Luke 16: 19. "Patience is necessary for you; that, 
doing the will of God, you may receive the promise." — Hebr. 10 : 36. 
Make good resolutions. 

peroration. 

"It is consummated ! " a sweet word after an innocent or penitent life. 
Oh ! that we might be able to repeat the word at the hour of our death ! 
To obtain this grace, let us, during this short space of our time, persevere 
in patience and firmness. 



218 Lenten Sermons. 

VII. 
THE SEVENTH WORD. 



' ' Father, into thy hands I com- 
mend my spi?-it. " Luke 23:46. 

One act was yet to be performed, which was the most painful to our 
Saviour, the most profitable to us, and the most ardently desired by the 
world. The Lord of whose greatness there is no end (Ps. 144 : 3) "crying 
with a loud voice, said : Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." 
— Luke 23 : 46. Let us meditate on the following circumstances : 

1. "He cried with a loud voice," to intimate that he gave his life 
willfully. 

(a) At the approach of death the human voice fails. Jesus crys with 
a loud voice as a proof how right he was in saying : "No man taketh 
away my life from me ; but I lay it down of myself; and I have power to 
lay it down ; and I have power to take it up again." — John 10 : 18. 

(5) Infinite was the charity of Jesus, inducing him to give himself 
voluntarily to death, to take away the sting of death, "Greater love 
than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends." — John 
15 : 13. And we have repaid him with ingratitude, by loving sin, though 
he died to deliver us from the death of sin. Let us repent of the past, 
and amend for the future ! 

That he was subject to the natural agony caused by the separation 
y and soul. 



2. That he v\ 
of body and soul 



(a) Every soul is in great anguish at the separation from her body. 
Jesus was to make known to us that he went through the same struggle, 
wherefore he said with a loud voice. 

{b) With Jesus the agony was the greater, because his body had been 
the most faithful companion to him for thirty-three years, and because his 
Godhead was united with his body as well as with his soul. O dearest 
Jesus, vouchsafe, we pray, through thine agony to mitigate our anguish at 
the hour of our death ! 

2. Meaning of this word. He addressed his heavenly Father, to 
teach us : 



Lenten Sermons. 219 

(a) That he has been sent into this world, to give testimony to the truth, 
in confirmation of which mission his last word is an address to God, his 
Father. 

(5) That in all our tribulations we should find consolation in the 
thought of God being our Father. God knows what I suffer ; he takes 
care of me. Have you acted according to this truth heretofore ? 

2. Jesus recommended his spirit, the noblest part of his humanity, 
reminding us of our obligation to provide in life and death for the welfare 
of our soul. "For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, 
and lose his own soul?" — Mt 16: 26. It is a lamentable fact that we 
neglect the salvation of our soul, amidst the cares of life. Jesus incul- 
cates on our mind that we can do nothing better than recommend ourselves 
and all that belongs to us into the hands of our heavenly Father. " Thou 
openest thy hand and fillest with blessing every living creature." — Ps. 144 : 
16. "Behold, the hand of the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot save." 
— Isa. 59 : 1. "No man can snatch them (whom the Father has given 
me) out of the hand of my Father." — John 10 : 29. Let us then often 
recommend ourselves into the hands of God, especially at the close of 
each day. Let us belong to him alone. "lam thine, save thou me." — 
Ps. 118 : 94. 

3. This last word must be applied to us also. We should recommend 
ourselves every day into the hands of God, by performing good works. 
"Therefore, also they, who suffer according to the will of God, let them 
commend their souls in good deeds to the faithful Creator." — 1 Pet. 4:19. 
By wicked deeds we deliver our soul into the hands of Satan. "Whoso- 
ever committeth sin is the servant of sin." — John 8 : 34. To whom have 
you given preference in your past life, to God or Satan ? Contrition ; 
amendment. At the hour of death, the same word should proceed from 
our lips. We cannot, however, repeat it with confidence at that dreadful 
hour, unless our lives were lives of penance. "Unless you do penance, 
you shall all likewise perish." — Luke 13 : 5. As to this penitent spirit let 
me remark : 

(a) It must come from the Holy Ghost. Penance is not a work of our 
nature ; on the contrary the concupiscence of the flesh, and the con- 
cupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life protest against penance. The 
penitential spirit, as every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, 
coming down from the Father of lights (James I : 17), and Jesus himself 
was led by the spirit into the desert. — Mt. 4:1. 

(b) This repentance of the Christian is manifested by pious exercises, 
zeal of prayer, to which penitent souls devote much time ; by love of 



220 Lenten Sermons. 

silence, contrite Christians preferring to converse with God ; by patience 
in the daily hardships of life ; and by voluntary works of penance. 

Such penitent souls will be allowed to say with the dying Saviour : 
" Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." Do you see the above 
indications of penance in your own life ? If not, commence a penitent 
life without further delay, and implore divine grace. 

peroration. 

When Jesus had said this word, bowing his head, he gave up the ghost. 
This Sun of Justice who is a bridegroom coming out of his bride-chamber, 
hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way, whose going out is from the end 
of heaven, and his circuit even to the end thereof, (Ps. 18 : 6) had set in 
the most painful death. In the words of David his ancestor, Jesus could 
say after the finishing of his sufferings : "In peace in the self-same I will 
sleep, and I will rest." — Ps. 4 : 9. How painful must have been the senti- 
ments of the Virgin, the Mother of God, when her divine Son, bowing his 
head, gave up the ghost ; the sentiments of her who desired to die with 
him, or in his stead ! Oh ! that she would protect my soul in death ' ' lest 
my enemy say : I have prevailed against him." — Ps. 19 : 5. 



From Mount Olivet to Mount Calvary. 



SIXTH COURSE. 



SEVEN SERMONS. 



Lenten Sermons. 223 



From Mount Olivet to Mount Calvary. 



1. 

JESUS ON MOUNT OLIVET. 



His sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground. — Luke 32: 44. 

On Ash Wednesday morning, my dear Christians, when you entered this 
temple of God, called hither by the voice of our Holy Mother the Church, 
you could not fail to be immediately impressed by the atmosphere of 
penance and mourning which pervaded its walls, and whispered in solemn 
tones, that the ecclesiastical year had led us on, until we stood upon the 
very threshold of this penitential season. Vested in the robes of penance and 
mourning, she renews the commemoration of the Passion and death of our 
Redeemer, — a remembrance which, while it fills the eye with tears of sorrow 
and compassion, imparts to the heart heavenly consolation and peace. She 
initiated us into this salutary season by the solemn remembrance of death, 
and how ? By the ashes which her minister placed on your foreheads, this 
wise and loving Mother wished to remind you that the day will come when 
an empty hearse will stand at your door waiting to receive the casket which 
contains your lifeless form on its way to the silent city of the dead — where 
it will be laid in its "narrow house" there to remain until the Resurrection 
morn. She admonished you to descend in spirit into that grave whilst 
you strive to realize what will most certainly befall the body upon which 
you now lavish such excessive solicitude. The worms, although satiated 
with the rich banquet of corruption afforded them by the decaying corpse 
which lies beneath that stately monument close at hand, will, in a brief 
space of time, drag their slimy length eagerly to yours, and feast upon its 
already decomposing parts. Yes! hideous, creeping, crawling things will 
riot upon the lifeless tenant of every grave, until the flesh, which, O! 
Christian people, it will be well for you, if you have not pampered during 
life, will drop from the bones, and finally all will turn to the dust of which 
you were so forcibly reminded at the beginning of this holy season of Lent 
To celebrate in sorrow and contrition, and with grateful, loving hearts, 
this solemn remembrance of the greatest and most touching truths of our 
holy religion, I behold you assembled in this sacred edifice. And how 
could I better correspond with the wish of the Church than by preaching 
to you — Christ crucified ! — how more effectually gratify your own pious 



224 Lenten Sermons. 

desires than by placing before you the sufferings of him whom, as the tiny- 
babe of Bethlehem, you loved and welcomed, at the joyous Christmas time 
to your purified hearts ! For this purpose let us transport ourselves in spirit 
to those places sanctified by these precious sufferings, to those hallowed 
spots, towards which every Christian heart turns in pious longing; thrice 
valued monuments of our redemption as they are, and even at the present 
day, visited by many devout pilgrims and watered by their tears. Let 
us, then, during the holy season of Lent, accompany our Redeemer 
from Mount Olivet to Mount Calvary, not as heartless spectators, but with 
eyes filled with tears, and hearts full of compunction, gratitude and love, 
because of the sufferings which for our peace are laid upon him 

Behold! The day preceding the night, which was never, never to be 
erased from the annals of the world, had passed, and the dark shadows of 
that memorable night now wrapped the earth in their sombre gloom. It 
was the night upon which the fallen apostle, Judas, had yielded to the 
whisperings of the demon of avarice, and determined to betray his divine 
Saviour; it was the night upon which his merciless foes took^counsel, each 
with the other, that they might device the most cruel means to torture the 
Son of God, and take his life; it was the night when they, perhaps, even 
framed the cross whereon he was to atone for our sins, and to suffer for 
the transgressions of the entire human race. Ah! yes, my brethren, it 
was a memorable night — a fearful one for those wretched creatures who 
harden their hearts and refuse to repent, but a blessed one for all wha 
will, with me, follow Jesus in his anguish, and try to gather some drops 
of his precious blood, as it falls unheaded to the earth. It was upon 
this eventful night that our divine Lord, in the cenaculum at Jerusalem, 
having washed the feet of his disciples with a humility, so profound that 
any attempt to form even a faint idea of its extent would be vain indeed, 
having spoken to them words of instruction and consolation, and instituted 
the most holy Sacrament of his love — arose, saying these solemn words: 
" The world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father hath given 
vie commandment, so do I. Arise, let us go hence. — John 14: 31. O! the 
love of this dear Saviour for man! He loves us far more than we, poor 
sinful beings, can love ourselves. Forth he went with his eleven disciples 
■ — Judas no longer being with them — out of Jerusalem to his 
favorite spot, the Garden of Olives. The way thither led through the 
dark valley of Josophat, whose stately cedar trees cast their shadows on 
the graves of the Prophets, whom Jerusalem had put to death — over the 
brook Cedron, deeply dyed by the blood of sacrificial animals — to the 
Garden of Gethsemane. At the entrance he bade eight of the Apostles to 
be seated, and took the three who had been witnesses of his transfigura- 
tion on Mount Thabor, with him further into the garden. Fear, anguish, 
and sadness now seized upon his soul, he began to tremble, he abandoned. 



Lenten Sermons. 225 

himself to an inward desolation far y far more bitter than any of his ex- 
terior pains, he experienced a deadly sadness and a dereliction of spirit so 
overwhelming that it forced from him the plaintive cry : " My soul is sor- 
rowful even unto death : stay you here and watch with me." And withdraw- 
ing from them a stone's cast, he fell upon his face and prayed : " O my 
Father, if it is possible, let this chalice pass from ?ne. Nevertheless, not as I 
will, but as thou wilt." Matt 26 : 38, 39. He prayed three times, each time 
more imploringly, whilst through the horrors of death's agony his blood 
pressed through the pores of his body, and, mingled with water, fell in 
great drops to the earth, which hard and arid as it was through very pity 
for hkn, became moist and soft with this most precious blood. Yes, 
thick and fast came these sacred drops till the raiment of our dear Lord 
was saturated with the flow, while the herbs and plants, and even the very 
stones became red as if in anger at this night's most fearful work. 

Let us fix our eyes upon our Saviour in his agony,' and let us at the same 
time ask ourselves, for our spiritual benefit, the cause of his inexpressible 
sadness of soul. The cause is threefold : 

I. The sins of the world. 

II. The foreknowledge of his sufferings. And 

III. The knowledge of how profitless his sufferings would be to many. 

Part I. 

Jesus, the strength of martyrs and the comfort of the sorrowful, is him- 
self weak and sorrowful unto death. And why ? Christ is sad for the sins 
of all men, and his sadness surpasses all human sorrow, because his pain 
extends over all sins, as the Scripture says : "He has borne our infirmities, 
and carried our sorrows." Sin, therefore, which we have committed and 
still commit with such levity and frivolity, perhaps even in laughter and 
gayety, the sins of all, yes, the immense guilt of the millions of sinners of 
the whole world, beginning with the first in the Garden of Paradise, to the 
last until the end of time, in their immense number, atrocity and 
malice, pressed heavily upon our innocent Lord, with 4 their fearful conse- 
quences and terrible forms. This awful guilt, which had accumulated in 
the long course of centuries, and came, not from one place alone, but 
loomed up darkly from all the regions of the world he is about to atone for. 
From this we may infer how great was the grief of the soul of our Saviour, 
who is eternal sanctity and justice ! " The Lord," says the prophet, "has 
laid upon him the iniquity of us all " — Isai 53: 6. Let us endeavor to 
form some faint idea of the enormous weight which caused the Lord of 
heaven such inexpressible anguish of soul. Alas ! I fear that to count the 



226 Lenten Sermons. 

sands which strew the shores of the mighty deep would be an easier task, 
or that we might far more readily compute the number of the glittering 
stars which so beautifully adorn the azure sky. Not only were the sins com- 
mitted in the past, with all the revolting circumstances attendant upon 
them clearly present before the divine victim, but all those of which every 
human being until ''time shall be no more" would be guilty, were visible 
to his all-seeing eye. You all know very well that one mortal sin alone is 
an outrage to the majesty of God so heinous that an entire lifetime is 
passed in doing penance for it, should be deemed a small return for its for- 
giveness through his mercy and love. Imagine, then, if you can see the 
vast throng of human beings who have existed from the beginning of the 
world, and picture to yourselves those who will yet be born. Think of the 
many, many sins committed and never repented of, which crushed down 
our poor, fainting Lord, and tell me, do you wonder that their. weight 
forced the crimson tide of agony from the innocent Lamb of God. 

Now let us ask ourselves how much our sins have contributed to this 
sad and painful scene ? Our heart, beating with emotion and compunc- 
tion, answers this question : may our divine Saviour, however, deign to 
grant us the grace that we may draw from the ocean of his grief tears to 
bewail our sins, to blot them out during this holy season by a good con- 
fession, in order to avoid becoming suddenly a prey to that fearful, eternal, 
fruitless grief, of which it is said : ' * Their worm shall not die-" — Isai 
66 : 24. 

Part II. 

The second cause of this unparalleled agony and sadness in which our 
Saviour laments : ' ' My soul is sorrowful even unto death, " — was the fore- 
knowledge of his innumerable torments and painful death. 

Christ whom we behold prostrate on his face on Mount Olivet, bathed 
in a bloody sweat, and whom we hear pray so beseechingly ' ' with a strong 
cry and tears." "Father, if it is possible, let this chalice pass from me. 
Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt, " is on the point of offer- 
ing himself as an expiation for all, and he voluntarily offers to drain to the 
very last drop the chalice of suffering for the best work of his divine 
hands, for his masterpiece, for mankind, whom he so tenderly loved. And, 
knowing all things as he does, there arises a terribly vivid picture of the 
torments he must undergo. He beholds the sharp nails with which his 
sacred body will be pierced, he sees the long, stinging, prickling thorns 
which will press deep into his holy head, and he already seems to feel the 
lash of his cruel executioners descend heavily upon his quivering flesh. 
O ! Christians, he sees too that in spite of all he is so willing to suffer for 



Lenten Sermons. 227 

us that, upon innumerable souls, his anguish will be utterly fruitless, and 
his precious blood will be rejected with indifference, and even trampled 
upon with fiendish malice and hate. 

Tell me has some vague, mdennaoxe presentiment of evil ever caused 
your heart to beat in wild unrest ? Has the very air seemed heavy with 
the weight of some coming sorrow, coming, too, you could not tell how 
or whence? If so, then, you can, in a very remote degree, realize the in- 
terior dereliction which rent the heart and soul of our suffering Lord. 
You can form at least a faint idea of the agony of your suffering Saviour. 
A faint one, indeed, it will be for it was no vague apprehension of evil, 
which haunted his beautiful soul. He, in his omniscience, had a perfect 
and definite view of the excruciating anguish which was so soon to over- 
whelm him, and all, that he might deliver us from the greatest, the most 
horrible, the most protracted woes that could come upon the children of 
men. And what were these woes ? The misery of sin, the just anger 
of an offended God, endless persecutions of Infernal fiends, and the per- 
petual loss of God. O ! what sufferings ! Alas ! what pains! Like 
mocking demons came, one by one, these various torments, and taunted 
their victim until he writhed in indescribable pain. Yes ! he saw the 
scourge, the painful crown, and the mantle of derision about his shoulders, 
He beheld the heavy, hard cross, the long sharp nails, the death agony 
upon the cross, endured amid the scoffs and jeers of the crowd, and 
borne without one kindly word or friendly glance. And beneath the 
cross ! — alas ! — beneath the cross he saw his dearest Mother in grief, too 
deep for words as she stood close to the Sacred Rood. 

O ! my Redeemer ! " Great as the sea is thy pain." Vast as the mighty 
ocean is its extent. And not only did his own sufferings present them- 
selves before him, on the lonely mount, but those of obdurate Israel, of 
his Apostles, martyrs, and confessors rose up clearly and distinctly to his 
view — the su.ferings of his Church caused by Judaism and heathenism, by 
infidelity, heresy, and superstition, by political power and revolution 
throughout all future ages. He also saw how tyrants would strive by every 
means in their power to lure his faithful servants from their allegiance to 
the true religion, and, when their glittering stores and worldly honors 
could not make those noble souls swerve one instant from the path of 
right, he foresaw the tortures and persecutions which won for them eternal 
bliss. It was thus that Jesus "took upon himself our infirmities and bore our 
diseases.'' 

If, therefore, our Saviour gives vent to his feelings through the lips of 
the prophet, saying : Of all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be 
any sorrow like to my sorrow, " Lament, 1:12. There is one question which 



2 28 Lenten Sermons. 

confronts us with a significance which we can not and must not ignore. 
Look into the fathomless depths of this vast ocean of suffering, and reflect : 
"How many drops of pain have my sins poured therein ?" O ! how many ! 
how many ! But we have one great consolation when ever the weight ot 
the cross seems to press too heavily for our poor weak human nature to 
endure. We can look at our divine Exemplar, our modol in suffering, 
and rejoice that he took all our infirmities and pains upon himself. When 
anxiety knocks at our portals, or poverty stalks, gaunt and wretched, in 
our houses — when illness casts its withering blight upon our lives, or 
death robs us of those we most cherish upon earth, we can nail our grief 
to the cross, and remember that Jesus died there for our sake. Hence it 
has ever been that truly noble and magnanimous souls, in their afflictions 
have, with the Saviour, prayed that sublime prayer : "Not my will but thine 
be done," and with St Philip Neri have exclaimed, " More crosses, but also 
more patience, OlLord" Sufferings or death was the watchword of St. 
Theresa and her devoted clients. ' ' Yet more, O ! Lord, yet more, " was 
the constant cry of the ardent St. Francis Xavier, and innumerable fervent 
souls unite with him in the heroic prayer. 

Llence it is that so many have followed, with Christian heroism, the 
glorious standard of victory, the Cross, to the lonely desolate mount of 
Olives, to the Calvary of suffering for Christ's dear sake. With the triumph- 
ant palm branch in their hands, they now stand around the throne of God, 
their countenances radiant with the joy of eternal safety, their hearts ex- 
ultant with a bliss which will endure forever, ever more. Backward they 
glance upon their temptations, their sufferings, their trials, their fidelity to 
grace, whereby they have gathered the priceless guerdon of a happiness 
which the eye is not capable of beholding, the ear is not attuned to hear- 
ing, and which is too perfect for the mind to conceive : the possession of 
the Creator, of God himself, and in him, of all other joys. 

Part III. 

"My soul is sorrowful even unto death. " Let us briefly consider what our 
Saviour wished to convey to us by this most touching plaint. Was he 
indeed sad and apprehensive, he who was the light of the world and the 
joy of all faithful hearts? Was he, the very essence of fortitude, appalled ; 
could he, who holds heaven and earth in the hollow of his hand, fear and 
tremble ? He tells us through the lips of the prophet : " I have labored 
in vain : I have spent my strength in vain.''' He complains with the Psalmist : 
" What profit is there in my blood?'" Yes, my dear Christians, our Saviour in 
his omniscience foresaw that his bitter Passion and his fearful death would 
be for many a scandal, a folly. With the eye of his soul he beheld the 
ruling infidelity and heresy over a great part of mankind, despite his Pas- 



Lenten Sermons. 229 

sion and death ; he heard the blasphemous insult of a certain infidel : "If 
we wrest the halo of divinity from the head of Christ, he will, nevertheless, 
always be entitled to an honorable place in the temple of genius and 
humanity as a recognition of his lofty morality in which he had no peer. 
He foresaw the black ingratitude and atrocity of so many who despite his 
sufferings and death serve the lust of the eyes, the flesh and the pride of 
life, and give themselves over to the malice of sin ; he saw the many re- 
lapses into sin, and with it, the ease with which so many neglect the foun- 
tains of grace, the holy Sacraments, frequently for a whole year, nay, for 
years, or do not approach them at all, and others who approach unworthily. 
" What profit is there in my blood/' He saw the scorn for the Gospel of 
the Cross, the contempt for the holy sacrifice of the Mass, in which is re- 
presented in an unbloody manner the great work on Calvary, or saw the con- 
tempt of the graces so dearly purchased, and that final ruin of millions of 
sinners whom on the day of judgment he must, notwithstanding his suffer- 
ings and death, condemn to hell on account of their having died in their 
sins. " What profit is there in viy blood P" No wonder that our Saviour is 
sorrowful unto death. No one ever loved man more than Christ ; no one 
ever understood better than he the misfortune that arises from sin. O my 
dear Christians, our Redeemer on Mount Olivet directed his sorrowful 
glance also upon this congregation, looked at every one of us. It seems that 
I behold the innocent Redeemer turning his tearful eyes upon each one of 
us, with the sad reproach : O Christian, of what benefit is my blood for 
you ? Who can be so obdurate as to resist this look of our Saviour, who 
so deaf as not to listen to this gentle reproach ! Oh, then, let us behold 
our Saviour on Mount Olivet with tears of compunction, of gratitude and 
love, and with the firm determination to enter upon a new life ; for we, 
too, by our offences, have saddened still more his already sorrowful heart. 
Our sins and ingratitude have wounded him unto death and forced that 
painful sweat of blood from his pores. Let us look at him in the hour of 
temptation when the world, the flesh and the devil let loose against us 
their inferna' machinations, in the hour of suffering when we shrink from 
the. chalice of pain, and in the last supreme hour of our lives when death, 
our sins, and the judgment of God overwhelm with fear our departing soul. 

peroration. 

May the image of our divine Saviour, so pathetic in his hour of agony, 
be imprinted upon our hearts. May the thought of incarnate Innocence, 
fainting beneath the guilt of a sinful world in Gethsemane's lonely garden, 
prevent us from adding to his already overcharged heart, and inspire us to 
follow his footsteps on his dolorous way to Calvary. May we be thus 
aided in temptation, assisted in suffering, and sustained when the angel of 
death covers us with his sombre pinions, and we stand, alone, before the 
Judge of the living and the dead. Amen. 



230 Lenten Sermons. 

II. 

JESUS BETRAYED BY JUDAS, APPREHENDED, AND ABAN- 
DONED BY HIS DISCIPLES. 



"And he that betrayed him, gave them a sign, saying: Whomsoever I shall kiss, that 
is he, hold him fast." — Matt. 26: 48. 



In our former meditation I presented for your consideration a subject so 
intensely pathetic that it could not fail to make an impression even upon 
the most indifferent heart. I endeavored to depict in as vivid a manner as 
could be done, how your dear Saviour, and mine, was so overcome by his 
interior desolation, that his precious blood, instead of water, streamed forth 
from every pore, and, although my picture must needs fall far short of the 
terrible reality, I feel assured that the divine Redeemer would graciously 
bless my efforts in your behalf. I will lead you this evening again into that 
ever memorable spot, that secluded grove upon the summit of the bleak 
desolate mountain where, beneath the gloomy skies which seemed to mourn 
for their Creator's sorrow, the Redeemer began the sacrifice of atonement 
for sin; for that sin which, in the lovely garden of Eden, bright with the 
rarest and most fragrant flowers, was first committed by man. 

Alas ! for the millions and millions of unborn human beings against 
whom the portals of heaven were instantly barred ! But the loving heart of 
our divine Redeemer found the key to open those massive gates. This 
key, my dear Christians, was — suffering, and the victim, the voluntary 
victim — to endure the suffering was himself, the second person of Blessed 
Trinity, who has loved each one of you with an everlasting love. 

Was it the breeze faintly stirring the 'foliage of the olive trees, as it was 
wafted from the Tiberian lake that broke in upon the deep silence of the 
grove? Ah! no ! On golden pinions, which moved lightly on the evening 
air, a radiant angel left his heavenly home, and, with reverent tenderness, 
ministered to his dear Lord, who thus strengthened, became fully resigned 
to the will of his Father in heaven. Nay, in view of the honor of his 
Father, the joy of the Angels, and the redemption of mankind as being the 
fruits of his Passion and death our Saviour was even consoled, and, as he 
rose from his touching prayer, awakened his slumbering disciples, for the 
hour had come. " The hour is come: behold, the Son of man shall be 
betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up; let us go. Behold he that will 
betray m e is at hand" — Mark it: 41, 42. 



■ Lenten Sermons. 231 

And now the sombre shadows of night began to fall over the brook 
Cedron, and all grew still and dark, whilst the measured tread of a num- 
erous band came nearer and nearer — then suddenly stopped. Loud and 
angry words were heard, for a dispute had arisen between the leader of the 
band and his adherents. Ah, well might that hypocritical traitor hesitate 
to approach Jesus in such company ! The band consisted of the soldiers 
sent to apprehend him, and the servants of the high-priests, bearing 
lanterns, torches, clubs, swords, spears, chains, and ropes, but the malice 
and hate of all combined failed to equal the diabolical venom which con- 
sumed the black heart of the wretched fallen apostle, Judas. Our dear 
Lord awaited them with a divine willingness to suffer death, a celestial light 
in his beautiful face. Alas ! my brethren, how soon was that majestic 
countenance to be disfigured and defiled ! Behold, how the arch-traitor, 
at last, approaches and, falling upon the neck of his Lord, gave him the 
treacherous kiss agreed upon, and the salutation: " Hail Rabbi! '" which 
delivered him into the hands of the blood-thirsty crowd. But how does 
our Saviour receive him ? Once more, once more! Yes, but for the 
very last time he looks sorrowfully at the lost apostle, and says: " Friend, 
whereto art thou come P Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man with a 
kiss ? " With a majesty and diginity that emanated from his divinity, he 
went towards the impious band, and, having proved it by those all power- 
ful and annihilating words, "I am He," he manifested his love by the 
miraculous cure of Malchus, and then willingly delivered himself to chains 
and bonds. The sanguinary wretches rudely seize his holy hands, and 
bind them fast till the cords discolor ami lacerate the tender flesh, and then 
cast ropes about his virginal body, as though he would attempt to escape! 

And now he stands, deserted by those who should have clung to him 
with steadfast love. All his disciples, even the ardent Peter, even John the 
disciple of love, take to flight and abandon their Lord and God. If we 
devote a brief space of time to an earnest consideration of this picture 
of the Passion which I have endeavored to delineate for you, three sig- 
nificant features will stand vividly forth as most fitting subjects for our 
meditation this evening, 

I, The malice of Judas, 
II. The acirocity of our Saviour s enemies, 
III The weakness of his disciples. 

Part I. 

Judas, once an apostle, a companion of our Lord, an associate so inti- 
mate that he was a constant witness of the innocence and sanctity of his 
life; one who shortly before sat with him at table, has now become a 



232 Lenten Sermons. • 

monster of deceit, an accomplished hypocrite, a betrayer of innocent blood. 
With consummate malice he employs the most tender mark of friendship 
and love as a countersign for the most terrible crime. O ! what deep grief 
this perfidious disciple caused his divine Lord who loved him and who 
during the three years of his public mission so often denounced hypocrisy, 
and branded those who practised it as "whited sepulchers," as "serpents," 
and as a "generation of vipers." 

When the Roman Senator, Julius Caesar, entered the Senate Chamber, 
he was suddenly attacked by a crowd of conspirators, one of whom who 
for a long time had been most bitterly inimical to him, stabbed him with 
his poniard, yet not a word of surprise escaped his lips. When, how- 
ever, he beheld Brutus, his adopted son, who had for so long been the 
object of his devoted love and kindness, among the murderers, his heart 
broke, and in the deep anguish of his soul he cried out: (l Thou too, my 
son Brutus!" Then he wrapped himself in his toga, and, without a 
struggle, resigned himself to his fate. The sight of his son with the 
murderers was too much. It proved the death stroke to his overcharged 
heart. 

But his was a light grief compared to that which pierced the 
heart of our Redeemer when he beheld Judas, the recipient of so many 
favors, coming at the head of his murderers as his betrayer. Although 
our Lord knew that the same lips which now greet him with a kiss had, a 
few hours ago, said to the Pharisees with most unblushing perfidy : 
" What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you ?" although, with a 
breath, he could have hurled him to the depths of a never-ending hell, he 
had only words of the gentlest and mildest reproach. O ! the heart of 
Judas should have been rent in twain at these loving words, tears of peni- 
tence should have moistened his eyes, and, at the feet ot the All-merciful 
he should have knelt to implore pardon and grace. You, my dear Chris- 
tians, can learn from this terrible example the end of the man who rejects 
and abuses the good and gentle Saviour's warnings, and the grace offered 
him by the Almighty God. 

But, what can we expect from one who after receiving holy Com- 
munion, left the table of the Lord to claim the money for which he 
betrayed Jesus ! And now he hastens from the fearful scene. Remorse, it 
is true, has taken possession of him, but it is remorse without a ray of hope, 
remorse which looks into the black gulf of despair wherein the light of 
mercy does not shine, and recklessly plunges him in. Back to the 
Synedrium is he driven where he confesses that he has sinned in betraying 
innocent blood; then, in a frenzy he hurls the thirty pieces of silver away, 
and in frantic haste, rushes through the city gates till he reaches a solitary 



Lenten Sermons. 233 

-wood. See the fugitive fleeing down the steep sides of the mountain, then, 
to the Synedrium, and thence, after his fearful confession, through the 
crowded streets, his hair tossed about in wild confusion, his eyes burning 
with a lurid light caught from the fire of hell which will so soon receive his 
guilty soul, and his form flitting like an evil shadow to the wood. There 
he loosens the rope from his mantle, fastens it to a branch of the tree 
nearest him, and hangs himself thereupon. In the fearful death struggle 
he wrenches himself asunder, his entrails protrude and hang down to the 
ground below, a terrible end ! What a terrible end ! And his soul ? 
Alas, his soul! The words of our dear Lord sufficiently indicate his fate : 
-' ' It were better for him had he never been born. " 

But has this terrible example the effect for which we would most cer- 
tainly look. Alas, no. The base conduct of this fallen disciple is con- 
stantly bearing repetition, and truly, at the present day, its frequent occur- 
rence is most alarming Every hypocritical act, every unworthy communion, 
every perjury for gain is a deed similar to that perpetrated by Judas, — 
Every connection with secret impious societies, or lodges, every betrayal of 
innocence, every desecration of God's holy days for gain is a deed 
worthy of the wretched apostle. Woe to those, especially, whose hearts 
are consumed with the greed of gold. 

"Three vices" in particular "plunge man into eternal ruin : Pride 
Impurity, and Avarice ; if, of one hundred proud persons fifty are saved 
by the Sacrament of Penance, of one hundred impure, thirty, of one 
hundred avaricious there will be scarcely three. " In truth, man is open to 
conviction in regard to his' pride, and the impure one cannot fail to 
know the wickedness of his ways, but who can convince a man of his ava- 
rice! And what does it avail, Of what does it avail him were he to gain 
all the gold on this earth ? It is but dust, and death will not permit him 
to tarry for it to take with him to the other world. Arise and come with 
me, death will cry, ' ' and wait not to gather thy golden store. Thou art 
going into the house of thy eternity, and O ! man there will riches be of 
no value for thy soul. Leave the gold for which thou hast forgotten thy 
God, to heirs who will squander it, and let thy memory die, and come with 
me to meet thy unrelenting judge. - ' O ! my dear Christians, let our Re- 
deemer be our wealth, our only treasure, our joy and the object of all our 
desires ! ' ' What shall it profit a man, if he gam the whole world and lose 
his own soul?" 

Part II. 

A frantic, infuriated mob of Jews and heathens now rush upon the in- 
nocent Lamb of God, cast ropes around his neck, bind his holy hands, 



234 Lenten Sermons. 

and drag him away, insulting him at every step ! They treat him as if he 
were the vilest of criminals. But a few moments have elapsed since by 
one stroke of his omnipotence they were hurled, all helpless, to the earth, 
prostrated by him who was the supreme Ruler of men and Angels, and yet they 
dared to seize him as a victim, and to bind him fast with ropes and cords. 
Alas ! the passion of man ! Behold how it impels those who yield to its 
promptings to cast aside every fear, and scorn the perils which encompass 
their path. But when this victim is the Son of God, Word of God, 
the Father by whom all things were made, when he could command 
legions of Angels to obey him, why did he not punish those insolent 
wretches ? Why did he not bid the earth to open and take them, alive, 
into its depths? Did he not by that simple word, "lam He," smite that 
impious crowd to the ground ? Why, then, does he allow himself to be de- 
prived of his freedom ? Why are his limbs bound by ropes ? He answers 
by the lips of the Psalmist, ' ' The cords of the wicked have encompassed me. " 
' ' The cords of the wicked. " 'Yes, Christians, our sins have twined those ropes 
wherewith his enemies bind the hands of our dear Saviour, our suffering 
Lord. 

Careless, negligent Christians, who look upon venial sin as a trifling 
wrong, you have multiplied cord upon cord, they have been firmly twined 
together, until at last by "contemning small things," you have fallen into 
greater and mortal sin, with you, becomes not an unfrequent occurrence. 
O ! you have, indeed, of cords twined the ropes ; you have greatly aug- 
mented our Saviour's pain, and added to his woe. And in his love for us 
he suffers it, in order, as he promised by the prophet to redeem the captives, 
to deliver those who were in bondage, and sever the shameful ties which 
held man chained to the triumphal chariot of hell. And yet many volun- 
tarily and repeatedly exchange the precious liberty of the children of God 
for the humiliating shackles of sin. O ! that during this penitential time 
the image of our fettered Saviour might be constantly and vividly present 
to the spiritual vision of those who are enthralled by the glamour of some 
sinful association, and that they would see in his manacled hands a tender 
appeal to seek, in the Sacrament of Penance, a sure means of freeing 
themselves from those sinful bonds. 

But it is as inexplicable as it is sad that many drag along from Easter 
to Easter, nay, for years and years, enchained in the fetters of Satan, al- 
though our Saviour never ceases to offer them the precious boon of liberty 
and the peace " which the world cannot give."' Borne down by the heavy 
chains of sin, they are like prisoners, sitting in the dungeon of spiritual 
darkness, and deserving eternal death, and they refuse pardon, liberty, 
eternal bliss. O ! Christian people, are they not mad, beyond all idea and 
conception, insane? How can a Christian, a Catholic, who knows that 



Lenten Sermons. 235 

one mortal sin places him in a state of damnation, who knows, besides, 
that at any moment death may call him, and that he may have neither 
time nor grace to make an act of perfect contrition, live for weeks and 
months, for a year, nay for years, in that terrible state ? What terror for 
them if the thread of their life be cut short, and without preparation they 
are called to stand before an avenging Judge ! ' ' Having bound his hands and 
feet, cast him into exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth. . 

Part III. 

The third significant feature in the picture which I have presented for 
your consideration is the weakness of the disciples, who, because they forgot 
the divine admonition : ' ■ Watch and pray, " fled, thus forsaking their Lord 
and Master in his hour of need. Even the prince of the Apostles who 
had feared not death, even St. John, the glorious disciple of love, who, at 
the Last Supper, was so favored as to repose on the Sacred Heart, and 
James, who with those two had witnessed the transfiguration of our Lord 
— all, all, overcome with terror, rushed from the spot. O ! surely such 
timidity and weakness must have caused an additional pang to our Lord. 
Still they were not as yet fortified by the gifts and power of the Holy 
Spirit, and there was something which grieved him in an uncomparably 
greater degree than this desertion of his poor timid disciples. In his 
omniscience he foresaw how many Christians would, notwithstanding the 
loving inspirations with which that divine spirit is ever seeking to recall 
his wayward children, in spite of the graces received through the Holy 
Ghost, in spite of the blessings contained in the the treasury of the Church, 
and the graces she has always the means of dispensing to those who accept 
them, abandon him and his Church during the years which would follow, 
and join in the conflict against him. He foresaw how, for the sake of 
earthly interests and low, sordid motives, they would join the ranks of in- 
fidelity and heresy, and strive to destroy, if that were possible, the end for 
which his bitter Passion and ignominious death were endured. I can 
almost hear the plaintive tones of our dearest Saviour ask us, as on that 
memorable eve he asked his Apostles : " Will you also go away ?" Will you 
also leave the Church where Christ lives, the only saving vessel which has 
valiantly breasted the storms of almost two thousand years, the Church 
which has a sure anchor to which she can cling, O ! how securely, in the 
most violent tempests of life, and which will land her safely with her children 
upon the eternal shore, the haven of everlasting bliss ! Daily, thousands 
of shipwrecked mariners are seeking refuge beneath her sails. They dread 
the storms which surround them. They discover in the Catholic Church a 
higher mission, a divine power, the life of the God-man and the work of 
her divine Founder. No, we shall not go away. We shall answer with St. 



236 Lenten Sermons. 

Peter : Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. 
And we have believed, and have known that thou art the Christ, the Son of God. " 
— John 6 : 68 : 70. 

peroration. 

Let us once more cast a glance at our dear Redeemer who is betrayed, in 
chains, and abandoned, and let us promise him that never, never will we 
act the part of Judas, the base, the treacherous friend ; that we will en- 
deavor to cast of the fetters of sin, and that we will ever love his Church 
and cling to it with a fidelity that naught can change. May our beloved 
Saviour by his blessing strengthen and confirm this resolution in each one 
of our hearts. Amen. 



III. 
JESUS BEFORE THE HIGH COUNCIL OF THE JEWS. 



' ' Now the chief priests and the whole council sought false witnesses againstjesus, that 
they might put him to death. — Matt 26 : 59. 

In our preceding meditation I, directed your attention to the anguish 
which overwhelmed the divine Sufferer upon that ever memorable evening 
when he was plunged into an ocean of desolation, the depths of which 
could never, never be sounded by man. And this desolation was not 
merely a sharp, passing, fleeting affliction, for it began when the shadows 
of evening first fell over the earth, and lasted until the midnight hour pro- 
claimed that a most memorable day was about to dawn upon the children 
of men. We have seen the meek and innocent Lamb of God proceed, 
with his three favored disciples, to the scene of his agony. St. Peter, to 
whom he entrusted the keys of his heavenly kingdom, St. John, whom at 
the Last Supper, he had permitted to repose upon his breast in such inti- 
mate union that he could even feel the throbbing of the Sacred Heart, and 
St. James, who had, with these two, been allowed to witness his glorious 
transfiguration, followed him reverently to the garden of Olives. There 
we have witnessed our Saviour praying in the deepest sorrow, we have seen 
the arch traitor Judas give him into the hands of a sanguinary band, and 
we have also been touched to the quick to see that even those three chosen 
companions of our Lord have weakly fled when the enemy drew nigh. We 
have watched with indignation and horror the base act of the infamous 
Judas and the sacriligious deed of the soldiers who seized and bound the 
Lord of heaven and earth, and I feel very sure that many a loving soul in 



Lenten Sermons. 237 

this assemblage has inwardly breathed in ready sympathy the ardent wish : 
O ! that I had been called to accompany our dearest Lord, how gladly 
would I have remained with "him to the last." Dear, faithful souls, you 
have been called ; our Saviour during these days of grace entreats you to 
accompany him from Gethsemane to Calvary, and eagerly heeding the 
divine petitioner, let us accompany him, step by step, upon his path of 
sufferings, through the long hours of the weary night. He does not ask 
you to suffer the torments which he endured, he requires nothing beyond 
your strength, but every sacrifice you offer up for him he will reward you 
a thousandfold. As, with the deepest interest, we walk from midnight to 
early dawn with our dear Redeemer, we observe that his being led away 
by those merciless captors, his trial, which was characterized by the most 
flagrant injustice, his preliminary condemnation, which was an outrage 
upon every preconceived idea of right, the denial of Peter, which so cruelly 
wounded his sensitive heart, and the tortures inflicted upon him by his 
inhuman enemies, during that most painful night, offer two points worthy 
of our present meditation. And these points are : 

I. The affliction of the divine Sufferer. And 

II. The love of our merciful Redeemer. 

• Part I. 

Our divine Lord suffered himself to be bound, and bore his chains for 
love of us. The cruel crowd, having bound him, moved on, and Jesus 
was led to Annas, who was formerly high-priest and the father-in-law of 
the present high-priest, Caiphas. On the way from Mount Olivet he en- 
dured indignities so great that each new insult appeared to surpass the pre- 
ceding one in malignity and extent. The very devils of hell seemed to 
have taken possession of that frantic, howling mob, and, indeed, they 
acted more like demons than human beings, as they gloated over the 
sufferings which they had caused. Would that we could realize the love 
which, after the mandate of the Eternal Father had gone forth, depriving 
our first parents, with their hapless posterity, of their heritage of celestial 
bliss, could leave the joys of heaven and accept such treatment, all to 
unbar for us those massive gates and win for us the right to strive for and 
gain unending happiness. Would that we could realize even in a faint de- 
gree that mighty love, and return it at least, so fully as is consistent with 
these poor, weak, ungrateful, miserable, earthly hearts of ours. Endeavor, 
my dear Christians, as we leave Gethsemane, to excite in your hearts an 
ardent love for Jesus, for his love contains treasures far exceeding any joys 
the world can give. To love him is to have all and possess all ; not to 
love him is to lose all ! Without his precious love there is nothing left 
but sin, and the terrible punishment which its wilful commission merits 
and receives from a God who will not be angry nor threaten forever, and 
into whose hands it is terrible for the unrepentant sinner to fall. 



238 Lenten Sermons. 

The creature before whom our divine Lord was arraigned was Annas, 
whose ruling passion was ambition, and whose proud arrogance beheld 
here an opportunity to display his judicial knowledge, and to crush to the 
earth, to humble to the very dust him who was so infinitely greater than 
the brightest angel in the heaven which was the work of his own hands. 
Having assumed an appearance of official wisdom, he presumed to enact 
the part of judge to eternal Innocence and Sanctity by questioning our 
Redeemer concerning his doctrine and his disciples. Alas ! my dear 
Saviour, what a humiliation to atone for our pride ! But still more does 
he desire to humble himself; for when he replied to Annas : " 1 have 
spoken openly to the world : I have always taught in the synagogue, and in the 
temple, whither all the Jews resort, and in private I have spoken nothing. 
Ask them who have heard what I have spoken to them : behold, they 
know ivhat things I have said," a servant was guilty of an outrage so terrible 
that we shudder at the mere recital of the deed. He dared to raise his 
unholy hand and to give our Lord a blow on the cheek, saying : " Answer- 
est thou the high-priest so />" Oh, just God, the Lord of Hosts receives a 
blow from a vile menial — the Creator receives a blow in the face from that 
hand that he created ; the Ruler of the Universe receives a blow in that 
countenance which the Angels venture to behold only when they sing the 
" Holy, holy, holy !" Who does not feel the most intense indignation at 
such an atrocious deed ! But behold the wonderful humility and meek- 
ness of the Son of God ! Our Saviour who could have caused that insolent 
arm to fall powerless and rigid, and that vicious hand to wither, reproaches 
the sacrilegious deed only with composure and dignified earnestness. That 
cruel deed, because of sin, is also our deed, and alas ! is only too fre- 
quently repeated by cursing, blaspheming and impure language. Oh ! let 
us learn from this humility and meekness to annihilate our pride and 
anger and avoid everything which might prove a new blow to our suffering 
Lord. 

But the divine Sufferer was to endure still more painful cruelties ! From 
Annas that impious band led him, all the time heaping upon him inexpres- 
sible abuse and cruelties, into the court-yard of Caiphas. There the high- 
priest is seated, as one on a throne, surrounded by the scribes and elders 
of the people. There the Son of God, chained and bound, in the midst 
of a crowd of rude soldiers, is placed before the bar of an unjust tribunal, 
False witnesses, bribed to act their part, men without honor or conscience, 
come forward with their lies and deceitfulness against Eternal Innocence. 
They become hopelessly involved in a labyrinth of contradictions, they 
distort the truth, and the innocence of our divine Saviour penetrates the 
dark tissue of their calumnies and equivocations, and, to the grievous dis- 
appointment of his prejudiced enemies, stands forth brilliant and clear as 
the sun in a cloudless sky. The sapient judges cannot conceal their per- 



Lenten Sermons. 239 

plexity, and Caiphas, who took precedence over the rest, then asks our 
divine Saviour: "Answer est thou nothing to the things which these witness 
against thee?" But Jesus answered not. This behavior of our Saviour 
incensed the high-priest, he rises suddenly, and whilst all eyes are 
turned upon him in breathless anticipation, raises his hand to heaven and 
conjures our Saviour, saying: "/ adjure thee by the living God, that thou 
tell us if thou be the Christ the Son of God." And our Redeemer, adjured 
by the judge by the living God, in view of the most terrible death, answers: 
' ' Thou hast said it, " and he adds : ' ' Hereafter you shall see the Son of man 
sitting 07t the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds 
of heaven." One would think, my dear brethren, that this solemn assurance 
from the lips of our divine Lord would have overwhelmed the high-priest 
and his companions with awe, and that, in view of that terrible second ad- 
vent of the Son of man, they would have fallen, in penitence, at his feet. 
But, alas! their hearts were so denied with sin, filled with malice, inflated 
Avith pride and corroded with the venom of self-love, that they were hardened 
against all the inspirations of divine grace. Their vile deceitful hearts were 
more adamantine than the hardest rocks, and they assumed that the 
Saviour's words were false, in their dread that he might escape from the 
death which they so ardently wished to see inflicted upon him. 

That which the truthful lips of our humble Saviour here asserted under 
such significant circumstances, and which he even condescended to render 
more momentous by uniting to his affirmation a solemn oath, the Prophets 
tore witness to throughout many preceding centuries. The voice of the 
heavenly Father, that voice which resounded at the river Jordan, the life, 
doctrine, miracles and prophecies of Jesus confirmed his word, the elements 
which obeyed, the sickness which departed when he came, the dead who 
at his word rose to life, nay, even the evil spirits, acknowledged that Jesus 
was the Son of God. Nevertheless, the hypocritical high-priest rends his 
garment and with an insolent affection of uprightness cries out: "He hath 
blasphemed: what further need have we of witnesses ? what think you?" 
And all cry with one voice: "He is guilty of death!" Unjust sentence ! 
Yet Christ, the Eternal Innocence, suffers this sentence to be pronounced 
upon him. Why ? He desires to die that we sinners may be converted 
and live. Who is it, therefore, properly speaking, that has rendered this 
awful verdict ? Alas ! let us acknowledge it — we sinners have rendered the 
sentence. This thought should touch our heart, fill us with sadness and 
urge us to avoid sin, on account of which our Saviour suffered so much, 
cost what it will! It is not for any fault or imperfection of his own that 
he chooses to suffer. Ah no! he, the infinite sanctity, he before whom the 
Angels veil their faces with their shining wings, does not suffer for any 
offence of his own: One drop of his precious blood would have more than 
-sufficed for the redemption of a thousand worlds, and yet he permits it to 



240 Lenten Sermons. 

pour forth in a plenteous tide from his sacred wounds. All this he does 
for love of us, and so magnanimous is that love that, no matter how great 
the tortures he would be called upon to endure, no matter how protracted 
they might become, they would still be far from equaling the extent of his 
feeling for us. 

The trial is concluded, the verdict rendered, and our Redeemer is 
delivered into the hands of the rude servants who glory in the office as- 
signed them, that of keeping guard over him, in as much as they can tor- 
ment him as they see fit. The wicked judges, well satisfied with their suc- 
cess, have left the spot. It was the hour of midnight; a dismal darkness, 
broken only by torch-lights and watch-fires in the court-yard, reigned over 
all. Oh! fearful night! during which indescribable pain alternates with 
the greatest ignominy ! These inhuman wretches fall like fiends upon the 
Saviour, a shower of spittle, a storm of blows and stripes with rods, rage 
around him; one pushes, another kicks, and another strikes him. "/ 
have given my body," our Saviour complains through the prophet, " to the 
strikers, and my cheeks to them that plucked them : I have not turned away my 
face from them that rebuked me, and spit upon me." Still this was not 
enough for their insatiable fury. They ridicule his prophetic dignity, 
cover his countenance with rags and striking his head, say in mockery: 
"Prophesy unto us, Christ, who is it that struck thee?" O Father 
in heaven! why dost thou not transfigure thy Son as thou didst on 
Mount Thabor ! Alas! our sins answer: Our Saviour desired to atone 
for the lust of our eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life and the 
numberless sins committed by the tongue of man. He wishes to satisfy 
the justice of the Eternal Father for those unchaste ones who wound his 
adorable heart by their despicable sins, for those proud and arrogant ones 
who turn heedlessly away from the lessons of humility he has taught, and 
for those evil minded ones who over and over offend against the virtue of 
charity, all forgetful that he is the God of infinite love. Curse not, there- 
fore, this impious band of Jews and heathens, but beg with contrite hearts, 
from your Saviour, forgiveness of sin. Oh! if your heart is not colder and 
harder than a rock it will be moved to compassion, and with tears and sor- 
row you will vow never to renew those sufferings of our dear Redeemer; 
for every unjust deed, of which you are guilty, is another blow upon his 
holy face, and every irreverence towards sacred things flings a new 
mockery upon your Lord. Every time you forget that upon you rests the 
all seeing eye of divine Omniscience you again blindfold the Son of God. 

Part II. 

Whilst on the one hand this dark night of suffering permits us to behold 
the pain of the divine Sufferer, we, on the other hand, gain an insight into 



Lenten Sermons. 24 r 

the infinite love of our merciful Redeemer, which appears all the more 
resplendently in view of the striking contrast presented by their bitter malice 
and deep seated hate. And this happy insight is an insight into the mercy 
of Jesus, which bears with the sinner; an insight into the amiability of Jesus, 
which calls the sinner to repentance; and an insight into the love of Jesus, 
which celebrates in the penitent sinner a magnificent triumph of grace. 

At the time when Christ was tried, he was three times denied by Peter in 
the court-yard. Peter, who was to be the Prince of the Apostles, the rock 
of the Church and the bearer of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, three 
times denies his Lord and Master, to whom he had made professions of 
fidelity that naught could change. He was not " standing a-far off" from 
our Saviour. Ah, no! he was within reach of his divine and adorable pres- 
ence, and he had but a little while before affirmed that though all should 
be scandalized in him, he would never be scandalized, and yet he fell. He 
was not content with a simple assertion that he did not know Jesus, with, 
oaths and imprecations he interspersed his denial, Alas! the depths to which 
even the just man can fall while the tempter can assail him in the land of 
his exile ! And why did Peter fall so deeply ? Because he trusted in his 
own fortitude, and felt himself stronger than the other Apostles; because 
of his vain glorious assurance: "Though all men shall be scandalized in 
Ihee, I will never be scandalized;" because despite the exhortation of our 
Lord: " Watch and pray f" he watched not, neither did he pray; because 
he followed his Master, as do the luke-warm of the present day, from a 
distance, and imprudently went into dangerous society. O Peter! Peter ! 
teach us all the dangers of sin and obtain for us humility, watchfulnes, de- 
votion and the grace to flee from these occasions, which we know are 
replete with peril for our eternal salvation. But teach us also to weep 
after our fall hot tears of repentance and then to live for our Redeemer, to- 
labor, and, if necessary, to die for his sake! 

When Peter had, for the third time, denied our Lord, the cock crowed" 
the second time. "And the Lord, turning, looked on Peter \ And 
Peter remembered the words of the Lord, how he had said: ' Before the 
cock crow, thou shall deny me thrice,' and Peter went out and wept bitter- 
ly" Christ, my dear brethren, who does not break the bent reed, 
nor extinguish the glimmering spark, Christ, who as the Good Shepherd, 
seeks the lost sheep in the midst of his sufferings turns upon the 
weak apostle a look of mercy and love, exhorting him to repentance, 
a look which Peter understood, for "He went out and wept bitterly f 
wept tears of repentance which were to flow anew as often as by 
the crowing of a cock he was reminded of his fall. '* O humble tear ! "" 
exclaims St. Jerome, "thine is the power, thine the dominion. Thou art 
not afraid of the judge ; thou wilt silence every accuser ; thou hast every- 



242 Lenten Sermons. 

where access. If thou approach alone, thou wilt not return void ; thou 
dost torment the devil more than hell does. Still more ! Thou dost con- 
quer the unconquerable, thou dost subdue the Almighty !" Blessed tears 
of the penitent ! O ! what nobleness of soul, what grandeur characterizes 
the repentance of St. Peter ! All through his subsequent life he wept 
openly for a sin committed more through weakness than malice. We are 
told that he even desired the details thereof to be proclaimed aloud 
until "time shall be no more," as a warning to all in that Church, of 
which he was the chief upon earth. We must humbly bow before Peter, 
forgetting the great sinner, admiring and honoring the truly penitent 
apostle, who never again lost Christ, but lived for him and for him alone, 
laboring for his Master with a love that made him rejoice to die upon the 
cross, a devoted love which is now gloriously rewarded in heaven and on 
earth. Let us reflect well upon the important fact, and take it deeply to 
heart, my dear brehren, that if Peter had resisted that first ray of grace, he 
would perhaps never have received a second, but would, like the unfor- 
tunate Judas, have been lost. If, therefore, we have fallen, let us rise at 
the first call of grace. 

peroration. 

My dear brethren, whenever we have listened to the tempter, and sinned 
grievously, we have denied Christ. We have denied him who, from the 
manger to the tomb, from Bethlehem to Calvary, spent every moment of 
his life in suffering for our sins. Let us, therefore, like Peter, weep tears : 
of sorrow, whereby to purify our heart. Such tears rejoice the triune God 
and the Saints in heaven ; such tears reconcile heaven, no matter how 
many and how grievous the sins may be. One glance at Christ crucified 
will produce such tears. He was, ere yet the ignominy of his bitter Passion, 
rmng, like a dark pall, over his fainting soul, designated as the most beau- 
tiful of all the children of men. His eyes were of a color which it were 
difficult to describe, lovely in shape, but a world of tender sadness seemed 
ever to dwell in their luminous depths. His mouth was exceedingly 
beautiful, his nose straight, his forehead broad and high, whilst his fine 
and waving locks often caught the sun light as he walked majestically 
forth on some mission of mercy to man. But O ! how changed was our 
dear Lord after our sins had nailed him fast to the cross ! Oh ! behold 
him now covered with wounds ; behold his head crowned with thorns, his 
outstretched arms, his hands and feet bound fast to the wood of the cross ; 
look at his pierced heart ; behold the Lamb of God which bleeds for you, 
poor sinners ! Can you do otherwise than shed tears of sorrow, which 
will be carried by the Angels to the throne of the All-merciful Love? And 
when you have again received the white robe of innocence, then work out 
your salvation by watching and praying, with fear and trembling, and be 



Lenten Sermons. 243 

faithful disciples ofChrist in the midst of a time in which infidelity and im- 
piety have reached their culmination. Such true penance is a sweet satis- 
faction for our divine Saviour in his painful sufferings, and for us the key to 
the heavenly Paradise. That celestial garden where the foul miasma of 
sin never scatters its poison through groves fragrant with the thousand 
flowers of virtue, for sin has ceased, and sinful weakness is no longer 
known. May the great penitent, Peter, obtain for us in this gracious sea- 
son a repentance like unto his, and may the great Sufferer, Christ Jesus, in 
his mercy, grant us this grace for the sake of that dreadful night of suffer- 
ings. Amen. 



IV. 
JESUS BEFORE PILATE AND HEROD. 

THE FLAGELLATION, CROWNING WITH THORNS, ANI MOCKERY. 

" Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers, platting a crown of thorns, 
put it upon his head ; and about him they put a purple garment, and they came to him 
and said : " Hail, king of the Jews ; and they gave him blows."— -John ,19 1. 3. 

You have not forgotten, my brethren, how, when on a previous occa- 
sion, we assembled for the purpose of earnestly reflecting upon our dear 
Saviours sorrows during the last few eventful days of his life upon earth, 
we followed him in spirit through every phase of his bitter pain. From 
the midnight hour when the powers of darkness were let loose upon the 
world until the first faint roseate tinge of dawn caused the eastern hills to 
blush for the outrages committed against their Creator, we walked by 
his side, and mourned at the sufferings he so meekly bore. We witnessed 
his trial, heard his unjust sentence, knew of St. Peter's denial, and beheld 
the indignities he had to undergo. O ! the agony that was crowded into 
that little space of time, those few short hours from midnight to early 
dawn. It was, we may well believe, a night of the most intense pain and 
anguish ever known in the history of mankind. 

One that suffers counts the hours, minutes and seconds of a night of 
affliction, and longs for the friendly light of day to come with its cheerful 
glow, but alas ! for our dear Lord, his most painful and ignominious 
sufferings were to commence in the morning, and Jerusalem would be 
there to witness his shame. With his hands tied upon his back, our 
Saviour, a heart-rending picture of suffering, was dragged like a criminal, 
in wild triumph, surrounded by a blaspheming raging rabble, through the 
streets of ungrateful Jerusalem — to the judgment-hall of the unjust and 



244 Lenten Sermons. 

cowardly Pilate. As governor and judge, Pilate was to pronounce sen- 
tence upon our dear Lord in the name of the Roman emperor, the su- 
preme ruler of Judea. Pilate, although a heathen, despite the tissue of 
lies and false accusations, does not find even a shadow of guilt in Jesus of 
Nazareth. Nevertheless he again delivers him into the hands of his ene- 
mies to be conducted to Herod. This miserable man, who likewise finds 
no guilt in him, treats him like a fool, by having him clothed in a long, 
white robe, and then sends our Redeemer again to Pilate, where, to gratify 
the blood-thirsty people, our Saviour is scourged, crowned with thorns 
and ignominiously mocked and derided. 

In all these sufferings of Christ we find three special points for our pre- 
sent meditation : 

I. The justice of the Eternal Judge. 

II. The patience of our Redeemer. And 

III. The ingratitude of those for whom he suffered so much. 

Part I. 

God is just and must, therefore, punish sin unrelentingly. But what 
punishment does this justice demand ? I will not speak of the fall 
of the Angels, that fall whereby legions of radiant spirits were in 
one instant hurled to the depths of a newly-made hell, and doomed 
to dwell forever amid the tormenting flames kindled by the wrath of 
an angry God. I will not dwell upon the fatal banishment of our first 
parents from the beautiful garden, where the divine Goodness had placed 
them, into a world which is most fittingly known as a valley of tears, nor 
linger upon the hours of that deluge, in whose surging waters the entire 
race of man, with a few exceptions, found one grave — one mighty grave. 
I will briefly mention that terrible visitation which overwhelmed Sodom 
and Gomorrah, that fire from heaven which sent the sinful creatures to the 
tortures of a never-ending fire in hell, and tell you of something far more 
dreadful than all those evidences of God's justice combined in one fearful 
group. 

Let us look in spirit upon the pillar to which our Lord permitted him- 
self to be bound and torn with stripes for our salvation. The sufferings of 
the preceding night, great as they were, failed to satisfy him who has loved 
man, 0/ how dearly, from all eternity, and who would suffer still more 
for his sake. Place yourself in spirit, my dear Christian, in the court-yard 
of Pilate, so that you may the better depict this terrible tragedy to your 
mind. There you see him who clothes all creation in wondrous splendor, 
deprived of his garments, bound to the pillar like a criminal, to be scourg- 
ed. His impious tormentors fall like wild beasts upon their prey ; a storm 



Lenten Sermons. 245 

of stripes with rods, scourges, sinews and disciplines, to which hooks and 
pieces of metal were fastened, fall upon his sacred virginal body, which 
soon becomes one painful wound. Alas ! words fail me to describe the 
rage of these inhuman wretches, the whizzing of the scourges, or the sound 
of the blows through the court-yard ; words fail me to convey to your 
mind an adequate idea of how his tender body is so lacerated that pieces 
of his sacred flesh are strewed upon the ground, saturated with the same 
crimson tide. What heart could bear such a description, to say nothing 
of such a sight ? His whole body, from the crown of his head to the sole 
of his foot is reduced to so terrible a state that the prophecy of Job : "His 
flesh shall be consumed away, and his bones that were covered shall be made 
bare," was literally fulfilled. And nowhere, my dear Christians, nowhere, 
is a merciful Samaritan to be found to pour healing balsam into his wounds. 
O holy and just God ! why does such unprecedented ignominy encompass 
the Son of man why do those livid stripes disfigure his virginal flesh ? The 
justice of God, my dear Christians, gives the answer: "He was wounded for 
our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins." Yes, to atone for our miserable 
pride and vanity in dress, our Saviour was deprived of his clothes, to atone 
for the sins of immodesty, he had to stand naked before the young and the 
old and suffer that cruel flagellation of his most holy body. And you, O, 
souls, for whom he endured all this, will you, nevertheless, in the face of 
all this, repeat those sins? If so, know then, you repeat the ignominy of 
j-our Saviour, and the blood of his scourging will cry louder to heaven 
for vengeance than the blood of Abel ; it will call down upon you a fear- 
ful judgment, which this same Saviour will hold on the day of retribution — 
that same Saviour who was once so cruelly scourged for those sins ! 

Once more let us turn our eyes toward the court-yard of Pilate, where we 
behold Jesus liberated from the pillar, standing in the midst ofthe soldiers, 
trembling in every limb from excess of pain. O! what an object for our 
deepest compassion is our suffering Redeemer as he stands, without a friend, 
while the cruel tormentors rudely gaze at him, well satisfied with their 
fiendish work. What crime, my dearest brethren, brought upon him the 
excruciating scourge ? O ! perish the thought. He was infinitely holy, 
sanctity itself, incarnate Innocence, and it was for no sin or crime of his 
that those stripes cut into his quivering flesh. When the soldiers convinced 
themselves that their task had been well performed, they took a purple 
mantle from one of their number and threw it around the almost fainting 
form of our Lord ; they bid him hold in his hand the reed which they 
scofflngly designated his scepter, and pressed the sharp thorns of the crown 
they had woven till they penetrated far into the holy head. O ! should 
not our hearts break with sorrow, should not sighs of pity and compassion 
testify our feelings at this most pathetic sight ? 

Thus has been fulfilled the prophecy of Isaias : " The whole head is sick, 



246 Lenten Sermons. 

and the whole heart is sad." " Who can fully comprehend," says St. Vin- 
cent Ferrier, " the pain that sacred head, pierced by so many thorns, must 
have felt, since we experience almost intolerable pain at the sting of a thorn !' 
And yet the degree of malice has fallen short of the requisite measure, a 
new indignity is offered to the Son of God. They lead him to an old 
broken, jagged column, and bid him to assume his rightful royal throne. 
They fall on their knees to deride and mock him, making his sacred 
countenance, his open mouth, the mark for their sacrilegious spittle. O 
dear friends, let us cover our face in the presence of such ignominy and 
such a scene ! But no ! Let us look at the fearful scene, yes, look closely — 
and tremble before divine Justice, which punishes him who clothed him- 
self in the habiliments of sin in order to atone for-the sins of human ambi- 
tion. Let all our sentiments henceforth be characterized by humility, as 
were those of the heroic Godfrey of Bouillon, who, at the moment when 
his most ardent hopes were realized, and that too through his own un- 
daunted bravery, manifested the virtue of humility in a very rare degree. 
He had taken Jerusalem, and when his followers desired to crown him 
with a precious diadem, he cried out : "I could never consent to wear a 
crown of gold in that city in which my Saviour wore a crown of thorns." 
Let us look upon our Saviour, in order that his sacred, thorn-crowned 
head may also, in the hour of temptation, be vividly before our mind ! 
Look upon him, sinner, and understand that sin, on account of which 
your Redeemer suffers so much, is no trifle, and, consequently, hell no 
fevered dream of some frenzied visionary, but rather the most stupendous, 
the most horrible evil that can be inflicted upon any human being, the 
most protracted punishment and intense pain that the most vivid imagina- 
tion could conceive. In that cavernous pit, the depths of which it hath 
not been given to any one of the human race to sound, a fire, compared to 
which the lurid light of the fiercest earthly fires is but a painted picture, 
perpetually burns, without consuming, the wretched souls of the lost, 
and devils of the most hedious aspect go hither and thither, one demon 
for each particular sin. The never ending tortures are an unceasing re- 
minder of the magnitude of the punishment which they are forced to ac- 
knowledge is just. O ! sinnner, tremble. " It is a terrible thing to fall 
into the hands of the living God !" 

Part II. 

Behold the patience of our Redeemer ! He the most pure, the most 
holy, the most just that earth ever bore, the innocent Son of God, endured 
all these sufferings with a patience which alone was sufficient to prove his 
divinity. He objects not to the barbarous scourging, to the cruel crown- 
ing with thorns, to the ignominious mockery ; no sigh, no complaint, 
escapes his lips. " My Father, not my will, bid thine be done" are his words 



Lenten Sermons. 247 

here also. " When he was reviled, he did not revile ; when he suffered, he 
threatened not. " ' ' He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened 
not his mouth. " ' ' He is led as a sheep to the slaughter, and is dumb as a lamb 
before his shearer. " 

By this incomparable patience Christ desired to become an example for 
us in the enduranee of our sufferings. " Christ also suffered for us, leaving 
you an example, that jwu should follow his steps, " says St. Peter. And, 
indeed, if Christ, our Lord, has suffered so much, should then we, his un- 
worthy servants, complain ? What are all our sufferings in comparison to 
the sufferings of Christ ? As a drop of water to the ocean, a grain of sand 
to a lofty mountain ! If Jesus, the guiltless, was willing to drain the bitter 
chalice of suffering to the last drop, should we, guilty sinners, turn away 
with indifference, coldness, or alas ! perhaps even deliberate malice from 
the chalice of atonement ? Shall we go along carelessly treading that 
broad and pleasant road where flowers spring up at every step, sweet sounds 
delight the ear, and perfumed breezes cool the summer heat ? When 
Christ, the King of Glory, chose the most sorrowful path, the royal way of 
the cross, to enter into his heavenly kingdom, is it fitting, O ! souls re- 
deemed by his sufferings, that we, his co-heirs by grace and mercy, 
should expect to follow him thither by a path of roses? Hence the 
apostle says: " Let us look on Jesus, the author and finisher of 
faith, who having joy proposed unto trim, underwent the cross, despising 
ihe shame, andsiileth on the right hand of the throne of God." Yes, in your 
sufferings, look on Jesus, your divine model. Are you poor ? Jesus was 
poorer. Are you misunderstood by the world, calumniated and perse- 
cuted ? So, too, was Jesus, but in an infinitely greater degree. Do you 
suffer pain ? Is the ruddy glow of health a stranger to your eheek ? Da 
your faltering steps almost refuse to bear your weight ? Oh how light are 
your afflictions in comparison with his ocean of sufferings ! Yes, behold 
his cross, his patience, but also his glory ! 

Part III. 

Alas ! how great the ingratitude of so many who rebel at the lightest 
contradiction, whose lips cannot restrain the angry word, and who deem it 
a great cross to carry even a little cross with patience in loving union with 
their fainting Lord. How great the ingratitude of so many, who by sin 
renew the sufferings of Christ, Our Lord bore all that ignominy, pain. 
and bitterness in the midst of his highly-favored and chosen people, whom 
he desired to redeem, sanctify, and endow with celestial bliss. Is it thus 
you repay the love of your Saviour ? But if we revolt against this in- 
gratitude, let us examine and see whether this reproach does recoil upon 
ourselves ; whether our Saviour could not turn to us and cry : Foolish. 



248 Lenten Sermons. 

people, is it thus you reward my love ? Might I not with equal reason 
cast aside your love when laid as a just tribute at my feet as I implore you, 
which I do in so many ways, to give it to me as if it were a precious boon ? 
Or could our Lord not say to many of us in our days : I have innocently 
suffered so much for you, and you are not willing to suffer the least pain 
for my sake ! I have endured all for your sins, and without the least feel- 
ing of compunction you plunge anew into the ocean of sin, and thereby 
remorselessly renew the cause of my pains ! Clothed in the garments of 
derision, I was mocked and derided that I may atone for your proud and 
improper extravagance in dress ; the toilet table is a far dearer shrine to 
you ; thoughts of fashion come more readily than holy thoughts of prayer 
and meditation ! I was cruelly beaten for your sins, your sensuality, your 
effeminacy ; and you, nevertheless, seek the pleasure of this world, of sen- 
suality and the lust of the flesh : For you I have borne, with ignominy 
and pain, the crown of thorns, and you sin grievously by cherishing a 
proud mind, as also by the ears, the tongue and the lips. I am derided 
and mocked for you and you mock me anew by your blasphemous and 
derisive utterances against religion ; you read productions of a shameful 
and immoral literature which bears the stamp of impurity and blasphemy, 
and you pay the base disseminators of such literature for their blasphemies 
against God and his Church ! Thus our Saviour could speak to the world 
in our times, and thus he will speak when he comes to judge the world. 
•Oh ! what will be the answer of the world when, arraigned at the bar of 
the Eternal Judge, there will be no avenue by which to escape, no hope of 
availing itself of those dazzling equivocations, whereby it so often deluded 
its poor foolish votaries. And, mark well the truth I tell you, that these 
accusations will fall with far more crushing force upon Christians than 
upon those who did not enjoy the happiness of knowing our beloved 
Lord. Alas for those worldlings who, while enrolled among the children 
of the one true Church, and professing to belong to " the household of 
faith," do not know the Saviour, and care neither for his knowledge or 
love. If they ever knew and loved him, that time has for so many years 
been hidden in the misty recesses of a vanished past, that they have utterly 
and entirely forgotten their Creator, their God. O, Christians, it is this 
forgetfulness of God, which is one of the prevailing errors of the present 
time. Do not you be of that ungrateful multitude who forget him. Love 
him, and he will repay you superabundantly. Labor for him, and you will 
be met by a gratitude so touching that there is no proportion whatever be- 
tween its extent and the poor weak service we have offered his most sacred 
heart. Forget him, who during this most painful night even whilst he en- 
dured those cruel tortures, remembered you, and what will become of you 
when you shall be summoned to stand alone, with empty hands, before 
the Judge ? Alas ! you will learn that it is a hard and bitter thing to fall 
into the hands of an angry God, that it is a terrible fate to be sent into 



Lenten Sermons. . 249 

everlasting fire, and a just punishment to be sent to answer that question: 
"Who, O ! my soul, can-dwell with devouring fire?" 

PERORATION. 

Let us learn from the justice of the divine and inflexible Judge, the weight 
and the punishment of sin, and from the patience of our Redeemer, patience 
and resignation in our sufferings. Let us abhor the black crime of in- 
gratitude towards our suffering Jesus. May our dear Saviour, in whose 
name these words have been spoken, and in whose name you have received 
them, render them so efficacious that they will, in a very great degree, pro- 
mote the salvation of our souls, and aid us to enter the abode of everlast- 
ing happiness. Amen ! 



V. 

JESUS SENTENCED TO BE CRUCIFIED. 



" Take him you and crucify him: for I find no cause in him.*"— John 19: 6. 

In our previous meditation we beheld our Redeemer cruelly scourged, 
crowned with thorns and shamefully mocked. Covered with wounds and 
blood, lacerated from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, the 
God-man awakened, even in the heart of Pilate, a feeling of compassion 
and mercy. In the whole course of his life among all the criminals, who 
during his official career he had had occasion to observe, never had he 
witnessed such a picture of utter desolation as this. Not realizing, per- 
haps, the entire absence of all human feeling which characterized the per- 
secutors of Jesus, the cowardly Judge thought that by presenting the 
pathetic Sufferer to their notice he might inspire them with the same merci- 
ful sentiments as himself. He, therefore, led the Saviour to the balcony 
■of the forum. As the divine Victim with Barabbas and Pilate appeared 
before the people who had assembled about the palace, a fierce cry of in- 
satiable fury rent the air. Almost fainting from the effects of the tortures 
which had been so wantonly inflicted upon him, a wave of sorrow seemed 
to sweep over the soul of our Lord, as he listened to the wild vociferations 
of ungovernable rage which burst forth from the mob, directed not against 
Barabbas, but himself. Behold him standing there, divested, indeed, of 
that wonderful beauty which had captivated the hearts of all who had ever 
come within its sphere, but clothed in a divine dignity, of which, despite 
the diabolical malice of his foes, he could never, never be deprived. He 



2SO 



Lenten Sermons. 



stands there in full view of the angry crowd, the fearful crown on his headj. 
the reed in his hand and the cloak of derision clinging to his mangled 
shoulders. He stands there in deep sadness and infinite mildness, his 
sacred blood purling down from beneath the crown, his dim eyes, full of 
divine love, turned upon his unfortunate, ungrateful people. All eyes are 
rivited upon the balcony, in breathless expectation. At this moment Pilate 
steps forward, and, pointing to Jesus, exclaims in a loud voice: " Ecce 
Homo!" Behold the man! But a few more moments of quietude prevail 
when the blood-thirsty Jews, becoming more and more enraged, demand 
pardon for Barabbas, the infamous murderer and chief of robbers, and for 
our Saviour the death of the cross. As if drunk with the desire to murder, 
they cry out with one voice: " Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate, recog- 
nizing the inutility of further efforts, became indignant at their obstinacy, yet 
as if one faint hope remained within his breast he assured the multitude 
"that he found no cause in our Lord" Let us for one moment contem- 
plate Barabbas, between whom and Jesus the choice remains. A noted- 
criminal he stands beside Christ, a man, upon whose countenance every 
vile passion has left its trace, he dares to take his place beside the holy one. 
His unkempt hair and matted beard, his eyes glowing with an evil light, 
his lips parted with an expression of scorn, and his stalwart form full of an 
insolent strength, present a most striking contrast to the dear suffering 
Lamb of God by his side. He, too, surveys the crowd, as if he knew well 
what its verdict would be, and as they still cried out: " Crucify him, crucify 
him: give us Barabbas" Pilate said: "Take him you and crucify him: 
for I find no cause in him. " What a judge ! O ! Christians, what a sen- 
tence ! The long course of centuries which had, since the beginning of the 
world until now, vanished down "the corridor of time " most assuredly 
had witnessed many an act of flagrant injustice, many a verdict which 
trampled upon every principle of right, but alas! never any thing so glar- 
ingly wicked as this. 

Not a murmur, not a remonstrance is heard from our Saviour who ac- 
cepts the decision in silence, and bows to it with divine resignation. It 
may be that his adorable heart felt an added pang when he looked at the 
monster of depravity and felt that Barabbas had been preferred before him. 
ft may be that he fully realized, at that painful moment, the ingratitude 
manifested towards him by mankind for whom he had done and suffered 
so much. Oh ! how many tears had been shed for us by those sweet and 
merciful eyes, how many words of loving exhortation had come from those 
blessed lips ! How many steps did he not take when, weary and footsore, 
he would gladly have rested. All to gain some way-ward soul for God!. 
Oh ! let us not marvel at the Redeemer's sorrow, but strive to learn. 

I. What is the cause of this unjust sentence; and 
//. The purpose. 



Lenten Sermons. 251 

Part I. 

Who is he that is before the bar of the most unjust court, sentenced to 
the death of the cross, in ancient times the most ignominious death that 
could be inflicted upon man ? It is eternal Sanctity, incarnate Innocence, 
in whom the searching eye of Roman justice could not detect even a 
shadow of guilt; it is he, the Holiest of the holy, who as the friend of sinners, 
of the sick and the poor of every kind, could call upon every deed of his 
to be witness of his noble career on earth, and could without hesitation 
ask: " Which of you shall convince me of sin ? " It is he, the faultless one, 
of whom even Pilate, poor trembling craven though he was, declared to 
the people: " / find no cause in him" Nevertheless, our Saviour is con- 
demned to death. And why? Faith answers: He is our Redeemer, who 
as the representative of all mankind, ladened with the guilt of sin, as the 
Mediator between man and God, desires to be for all of us the immaculate 
Lamb of sacrifice, the reconciliation with divine justice, to atone on the 
tree of the cross for sin, which originated beneath the tree, in the garden 
of Paradise. Open your hearts, my brethren, to sentiments of the deepest 
sorrow, and resolve to abandon sin, for O! believe me, it wass?>z, accursed 
sin, your sins and mine, which caused the unjust sentence of death to be 
pronounced against Jesus. Who is it, therefore, that pronounced this 
deicidal verdict by the lips of Pilate ? Oh ! sorrowful answer but true ! 
Listen, we must hear it, and repent until the very latest moment of our 
lives. We have pronounced it, we have all joined in the cruel cry: 
" Crucify him ! Crucify him ! " for we have all contributed to the common 
guilt of sin, on account of which our Saviour permitted so cruel a sentence 
to be pronounced upon him. . Painful thought ! But still more painful is 
the thought that we pronounce anew the sentence of blood, that we cry, 
as it were, anew : Crucify him, crucify him ! as often as we repeat the cause 
of that sentence and of that cry, namely, sin / Will we continue to com- 
mit sin? O dear Christians, redeemed by Christ, consider, if infidels and 
heathens dese-ve hell on account of their sins, the Christian deserves it 
doubly, because he transgresses the law of God, knowing that the 
Son of God, for the sake of sin, was condemned to the death of the 
cross. And if on account of that unjust sentence streams of blood 
flowed through the streets of Jerusalem, by the avenging sword of 
the Romans, if Pilate, who preferred to sacrifice Christ rather than 
incur the displeasure of the emperor in whose royal favor he delighted to 
bask, was after all deprived of that fitful honor, an earthly monarch's notice, 
and died in a condition of misery that might well have touched the hardest 
heart, but which failed to elicit any compassion for him, what retribution 
shall be meted out to us if we continue to repeat, by our sinful lives, that 
cruel verdict? O ! that my words could so effectually touch the heart of 
the impenitent sinner, if there be any such present here to-night, that the 



252 Lenten Sermons. 

figure of his agonizing Redeemer would be ever more present before his 
eyes. I would wish that when he walks forth upon the broad road of sin, 
that alluring pathway where bloom the rarest flowers of forbidden pleasure, 
but which terminates in the firey prison of hell, that the pathetic figure of 
the Saviour would follow his footsteps. I would wish in the silent watches 
of the night, when, after the revolting delights of some bacchanalian revel, 
he throws himself upon his couch and loses himself in the inebriate's slum- 
ber, that in his troubled dreams he would behold the Saviour sentenced to 
death, the sad, sad eyes looking at him with sorrowful love. Yes, Chris- 
tians, I hope that every impenitent sinner who listens to my voice, whether 
he is treading the broad road through the gates of pride, of avarice, of un- 
chastity, of gluttony, of envy, of anger, or of sloth, will be followed at 
every step by the crucified Lord until, unable to resist the pleading glance 
of his loving eye, he will turn from the path of sin and repent. The sharp 
points of the thorns which encircle that aching head, the cloak clinging to 
the lacerated shoulders, the reed, that sign of derision, in his divine hand, 
and above all the tender, inviting look in the Saviour's eye, will certainly 
appeal to the most obdurate heart. O ! that the cruel cry : ^Crucify him, 
Crucify him /" would constantly and everywhere resound in his ears, until 
at last he begins to reflect, and from reflection to lead a penitent life; until 
he exclaims with St. Theresa : ' ' O Jesus, my Love, I desire to love thee 
forever. O dear Redeemer, from henceforth no more sin, no ! no sin !" 

Part II. 

Sin was the cause of Christ's condemnation to death ; the purpose for 
-which our dear Lord suffered this sentence to be pronounced upon him 
was : our reconciliation, sanctification and eternal happiness. Sin de- 
prived man of the grace and friendship of God ; all mankind languished 
under the sentence of eternal damnation ; sin had, as it were, destroyed 
the bridge between heaven and earth, so that mankind beheld with terror 
the flames of hell below. In fear and trembling the human race stood 
upon the edge of that frightful abyss and gazed far into its yawning depths. 
They looked upon utter darkness, which even the lurid seething mass of 
molten fire failed to light, although it revealed the hideous, the shapeless 
forms of the infernal spirits, as they heaped tortures on the souls of the lost. 
O ! how the more thoughtful shuddered and clung to the hope that a Re- 
deemer would come to their aid. Here, indeed, our Redeemer intervened, 
in order to effect, through his death on the cross, perfect reconciliation be- 
tween God and man, and to establish again between heaven and earth that 
connection which no man, nor angel could bring about. For that pur- 
pose he permitted this sentence of death to be passed upon him. But sin 
had caused discord also among mankind ; the lust of the eyes, the lust of 
the flesh and the pride of life had made man an enemy to man ; even the 



Lenten Sermons. 253 

individual man was at war with himself; the storm of passions raged 
within him, and his heart was oppressed with the night-mare of a wicked 
conscience, and the terrifying aspect of hell surrounded him. Our Re- 
deemer wished to establish harmony between man and man by the truth 
and grace of the Church, he desired, as the Apostle so beautifully says, 
' ' through the blood of his cross to unite in peace the things that are on earth and 
the things that are in heaven. " And, truly, the words which resounded 
above Bethlehem's crib : '• On earth peace to men of good will" have been 
verified since that other cry : " Crucily him, cracify him /" The sentence 
of death pronouneed upon our Saviour was hell's last cry of victory ; whilst 
it is for all who are of good will, in heaven, the cry of reconciliation, and 
on earth, the watch-word of peace. 

In connection with our reconciliation our Redeemer had in view our 
sanctification. He had promised : "And I, if I be lifted" (on the cross) 
"from the earth, will draw all things to myself" like the eagle, in the pro- 
phetic picture, who, enticing her young to fly, hovering over them, spreads 
her wings to take them upon her shoulders and bear them aloft. And 
when the fulness of time had arrived the Creator of the world entered the 
world in order to redeem it. He entered it in an obscure grotto on the 
outskirts of a little town, he, the Lord of the universe, chose to come at 
midnight as a tiny babe. He came not as a mighty monarch. No, my 
brethren, he wished by his humility to attract the whole human family, so 
that when the time for his great suffering should have arrived he would win 
the children of men to accompany him on his sorrowful way to the cross. 
Mindful of his promise to draw all things to himself our Redeemer to ensure 
its fulfilment, suffered himself to be tried, and accepted the condemnation 
to the Cross. He embraced the Cross, he welcomed its advent, he shrank 
not from its hard, rude, painful touch. All good things emanate from the 
cross. The sage finds his wisdom beneath its sheltering arms, and close 
by its protecting shadow the tempted soul finds strength. The saintly 
author of the "Imitation" had a perfect realization of this for he tells us : 
In the cross is salvation ; in the cross is life ; in the cross is protection 
from thy enemies; in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the 
cross is perfect joy of spirit. . . . There is no health of the soul, nor 
hope of eternal life, but in the cross. " Mankind, formerly deprived of 
truth and fortitude, now glories in the cross, wherein is wisdom and forti- 
tude. Ask all the "men and women, Saints of God," whose virtues 
bloomed as so many miraculous flowers of sanctity in the garden of the 
Lord, whence did they receive strength and grace ? They will answer : 
From the cross. Ask the martyrs who have shed their blood for Christ, 
whence their fortitude and grace ? They will answer : From the cross. 
Ask the daughters of Charity, whose heroism by the bed of pain and human 
misery is admired by physicians who have grown grey in their profession,. 



254 Lenten Sermons. 

whence their heroism ? They will answer : From the cross ! Ask the men 
and virgins in the lonely forests and arid deserts of distant countries, who, 
after having left all, served the Crucified, whence such self-denial ? They 
will answer : From the cross of Christ ! And at present, in our own 
country, behold the many who, though thrown among people who are 
ever ready to sneer at them for belonging to the household of the faith, 
nevertheless, adhere to and love that faith more than all the world ; who, 
though in the midst of an immoral world would preserve their souls and 
bodies pure and holy ; ask them, whence this fortitude and grace ? And 
all, all will answer : From the cross of Christ ! 

Finally, our Saviour had in view our eternal happiness, in taking upon 
himself that cruel sentence of death. Heaven, which was closed by sin, 
was to be re-opened by the death of Innocence upon the cross. " We 
have," says the Apostle, "a confidence in the entering into the sanctuary by the 
blood of Christ, a new and living way, which he hath dedicated for us. " The 
grace from the cross, by which we are now united with God is the beginning 
of that eternal, happy union with him, in which all earthly woe and misery 
will cease, and in which a full, yea, an overflowing measure of joy and 
bliss will quicken us. With justice, therefore, St. Chrysostom calls the 
cross, "the hope of Christians and the key to Paradise." O ! let us live, 
so that it will one day open the golden gates for us." 

And now, my dear Christians, once more cast an eye upon our suffering 
Eedeemer, as he stands before us beside Pilate in the face of his ungrateful 
people, bearing the crown of thorns upon his wounded head, the mantle 
of derision about his mangled shoulders, the reed in his hand, his eyes 
filled with sorrowful tears, and his heart filled with sadness and infinite 
love. Let us meanwhile hold fast to the truth that our sins also have con- 
demned him to death, let us remember that to secure for us the great boon 
of reconciliation, and thus win, too, sanctification and eternal happiness 
for mankind, he suffered to be pronounced against him the sentence of 
condemnation to the painful and ignominious death of the cross. O ! how 
God loved the world ! Is there any one of us so dead in heart, so 
blighted in mind as not to be won by this stupendous love to a bettei life ? 
O ! from the deepest depths of our hearts let us mourn for our sins, let us 
detest them, let us ardently long that the purpose of all his agony may 
not be frustrated in our regard. 

PERORATION. 

In this frame of mind let us turn to the loving mediatrix of Christians, 
and implore her aid that the cross of her dear Son may indeed yield us sal- 
vation, and that in his Passion we may find a ready shield for every snare 



Lenten Sermons. 255 

of our enemy, the prince of hell. Then when our earthly frame shall be 
laid in the silent grave, and all that is mortal of us is hidden forever from 
view, Eden's unfading joys will delight our ransomed souls, and we will 
.be forever happy in the realms of perpetual bliss. Amen. 



V. 

JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS AND IS CRUCIFIED. 



"He delivered him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him forth. 
And bearing his cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew 
Golgotha, where they crucified him. "—John 19 : 16-18. 

I will, this evening, dear Christians, consider with you the final suffer- 
ings of our Redeemer. After our dear Saviour was, notwithstanding his 
innocence, condemned to death, he was delivered into the hands 
of his enemies, to carry on his wounded shoulders the heavy cross 
from the house of Pilate to Calvary, where he was nailed to it with 
a criminal on either side. This was that he might establish the 
new covenant of peace between God and man. An immense multi- 
tude of people thronged the streets of the city of Jerusalem, in the 
midst of them walks Jesus, the crown of thorns upon his head, the 
cross upon his shoulders. We have followed our Lord from the hour 
when he began to suffer so intensely, and we will cling to him with that 
great love which is born of sympathy on this, his last sad journey to the 
sacred Mount. But, first, my brethren, let us pause one moment and con- 
template the wonderful love which could impel the Son of God, the per- 
fect equal of his Eternal Father, the Lord, the King of Heaven, to volun- 
tarily become the principal actor in such a wild tumultuous scene as this. 
We marvel anew as we meditate upon each added indignity, and behold 
each new torment heaped with such venom and hate upon his head, and 
we have ever to revert to the one reason, the only cause, and are lost in ar- 
amazement to think that it is all through the excessive love of Jesus for us, 
poor erring children of men. It passes our comprehension, this almost 
piteous love of our Lord. It does not exclude sinners. Nay, they have 
ever been the dear objects of his most tender solicitude. Even whilst they 
deliberately turned away from that holy love and chose the lurid light of 
everlasting fire, our gracious Lord was ready, should they turn to him with 
repentant hearts, to forgive, and place them again on the way to eternal 
life. 

O ! then sinners ! this season of grace is drawing to a close, and each 
hour bears away in its depths a portion of your life upon earth. Close not 



256 Lenten Sermons. 

your hearts to my appeal. Join the Saviour on his way to Calvary, but 
join him with a firm resolution to kneel beneath the cross, there to enter a 
new and better life — a life for him ! Let us meditate on this scene of the- 
Passion to which my text refers, namely: 

I. Christ carrying the cross. And 

II. Christ crucified. 

Part I. 

After the sentence of death had been pronounced upon our dear Lord,. 
the soldiers prepared to set forth to Calvary. They rudely tore from him. 
the purple cloak, clothed him in his own garments and placed the heavy 
cross on his mangled shoulders. The signal to set out being given, the 
procession takes up its line of march. Alas ! what a touching sight ! 
Onr Saviour, pale and bent from pain and suffering, falters and sways be- 
neath the heavy cross. Close to him walk the executioners and the 
soldiers ; behind him follow the two thieves and a multitude of people, 
attracted by curiosity and a variety of causes, not one of which was com- 
passion for the Saviour. No one pities him ; mockery and words of deri- 
sion are heard on all sides ; his enemies rejoice over the victory ; his 
friends have fled. But have not his unutterable sorrows called forth the 
tears of some pious women ? Yes ; but their tears afford no consolation 
for our Saviour. " Weep not over me," he says, " but weep for yourselves 
and for your children" Ah, surely upon his way to death, the heart that 
of all others in the world loved him most dearly, did not forsake him. 
Surely his afflicted mother was near at hand. Ah ! yes, she who stood. 
close by the cross, followed him to Calvary, but, thrust aside, and pushed 
hither and thither by the rude mob, she could not go near enough to her 
divine Son to perform those tender ministrations which a fond mother fain 
would lavish on a suffering child. And how painful, how weary and sad 
was the journey for Jesus ! The way to Calvary is long, the cross of 
rough, unfinished wood and extremely hard to carry ; our divine Saviour 
moves slowly along beneath the weighty burden. Every step is a new tor- 
ment to him ; for whilst the one end of the cross rests upon his shoulders, 
the other, dragging along the ground, knocking against stones and falling 
into cavities, causes his limbs, which are already covered with wounds, the 
most painful concussions. Exhausted by the loss of blood, he falls re- 
peatedly beneath the cross to the ground, so that his wounds open and the 
blood — a crimson tide — streams forth. Here they compel Simon of Cy- 
rene to assist Jesus in carrying the cross, not indeed through compassion 
for him, but that they may bring him alive to Calvary. w It was the num- 
ber of our sins, my dear Christians, which weighed so heavily upon him,, 
that he fell beneath this burden of sin ! 



Lenten Sermons. 257 

And now, my dear Christian, behold your Saviour carrying the cross ! 
1 'Now the King goeth before you ! " If Simon of Cyrene had known who Jesus 
was he would not have waited until "forced" to show the greatest honor 
and love to our blessed Saviour. Like St. Andrew, seeing his cross 
from a distance he would have rejoiced : " Hail, precious cross ! O good 
cross? O holy cross!" Now, my dear friends, we know upon whose 
shoulders the heavy cross was laid, we know his words : " If 'any man will 
come after me, let hi?n deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follcnv 
me." Let us, then, not refuse to carry the cross which God places upon 
our shoulders. Each one knows well his own particular cross. It is, per- 
chance, not so very oppressive. It may be some trial that, at times, 
threatens to crush you beneath its weight. It may be of recent date, or it 
may be that for years and years its shadow has embittered your life. Be it 
what it may, summon all your strength, and carry it after your Saviour 
with patience and resignation. It will be to your honor, your salvation, 
your eternal glory, your unutterable joy in heaven. Always bear in mind 
your Saviour ladened with the cross, that you may not faint and falter by 
the dreary wayside of a clouded life. Your Redeemer walked, as an ex- 
ample for you, the royal way of the cross ; he has invited you to his 
heavenly dwelling where crosses are changed to fragrant roses, and suffer- 
ings to glittering gems. Behold him at the end of his earthly pilgrimage ! 
Behold, also, his holy Mother, the Apostles, martyrs, confessors, and all 
his faithful followers of every rank and condition of life ! They all carried 
the cross after him and received for it a crown in heaven. If you desire 
to be crowned there, follow then your Saviour on the way of the cross. We 
may picture to ourselves the swiftly flying moments of time by comparing 
them to the never ceasing flow of an impetuous stream, hastening onward 
to the sea. Onward and ever onward rush its crystal waters, not one drop* 
ever flows back whence it came. And when it reaches the vast ocean it 
is absorbed in its depths, and we see it no more. Thus it is with time. 
On, on, fly the passing moments seeking for the ocean of eternity, not one 
ever looks back, nor returns that it may be more fittingly employed. And 
when it finds the eternal waters it speeds towards them, to be absorbed in 
their unfathomable depths. Yes, time is short, man's life is but a span, 
but the reward is eternal and infinitely great. 

But it is. not sufficient that we carry the cross, that is, those sufferings 
which his love imposes upon us, we must also carry the cross of mortifica- 
tion and self-denial, which we must voluntarily take upon ourselves. If 
we desire to be his disciples we must deny ourselves. We must joyfully 
impose upon ourselves priviations and mortifications of body and soul in 
order to gain spiritual fruits. " Tliey ivho are Christ's have crucified their 
flesh, with the vices and concupiscences." — Galat 5 : 24. Follow the advice 
of St. Peter: " Wherefore, having the loins of your mind girded, being 



258 Lenten Sermons. 

sober, hope perfectly for that grace ivhich is offered you at the revelation of 
Jesus Christ as children of obedience, not conformed to the former desires of 
your ignorance, but according to him who is holy, who hath called you ; be 
you also holy, in all conversation, . . \ converse in fear during the 
time of your sojourn here: knowing that you were not redeemed with cor- 
ruptible gold or silver . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of 
the lamb unspotted and undrfiled." — 1. Peter, 1 : 13. 

Part II. 

The procession has arrived on the heignts of Calvary, and Christ de- 
sires just here, where repose, according to universal tradition, the ashes of 
Adam, the first sinner among men, to effect on the cross the redemption, 
salvation and eternal happiness of the world. On Calvary was committed 
the most atrocious crime ever perpetrated under the sun. ' ' They crucified 
him" — three words only ! but oh ! what inexpressible woe ! The execu- 
tioners roughly seize our Saviour, tear his clothes, which adhere to his 
wounds, from his body, throw him naked upon the cross and then, driving 
heavy iron nails through his hands and feet, fasten him to the wood. The 
flesh of his sacred hands and feet are pierced by these cruel nails, the sin- 
ews and nerves severed, the veins torn, the bones wrenched asunder, and 
streams of blood flow from every wound, whilst mournful sighs betoken 
our dearest Redeemer's pain. The cross is raised and fastened in the 
earth. Thus he is suspended a most heart-rending spectacle, with arms 
outstretched, between heaven and earth, in the presence of a wild and in- 
furiated multitude. For three hours, he hangs suffering the most excruciat- 
ing torments. Turn wheresoever he will, he is immersed in a vast ocean 
of pain, he experiences only pain, nothing but the most excessive pain. If 
he looks up to heaven, he finds himself forsaken by his Father ; if he looks 
around him he sees two thieves, one of them blasphemes him ; if he looks 
down from the cross he sees his executioners, with hearts devoid of feeling, 
and — his holy Mother in tears for his sake. O ! the abundance, the 
effrontery of sin which created for that tender mother a lifelong grief, as 
she wept there beneath the cross. 

Let us, my dear Christians, remain still longer with this willing Victim 
of our sins, and let us read what is written there — the writing is large, en- 
graved in characters of blood on the sacred body of our Redeemer ! O 
sinner ! sinner ! ' ' If in the green wood they do these things, what shall be 
done in the dry ?" ' ' Unless you do penance, you shall all likewise perish. " But 
the same aspect which fills the sinner's heart with terror, imparts hope, 
consolation and peace to the heart of the penitent Christian. Come, there- 
fore, contrite souls, to the feet of your crucified Redeemer and let the 
bright sun of hope gild with its cheering ray the dense gloom of your de- 



Lenten Sermons. 259 

solate souls ! Why should you feel discouraged ? Is it on account of 
sins committed, but for which you have already done penance ? Christ 
has atoned for them in an abundant measure, only do not fail to offer 
your penance in union with his sufferings to the heavenly Father. Or do 
you fear on account of your daily transgressions ? Christ has by his death 
obtained for us those saving means which impart strength to resist the wiles 
of Satan, and fortitude to suffer with him in his hours of pain. Do you 
tremble on account of the constant temptations of the world, the flesh and 
the devil ? Christ has, on the cross, conquered the world, gained the 
victory of the spirit over the flesh and crushed the head of the infernal 
serpent ; his very name puts the devils to flight. Do you fear on account 
of the few merits you possess for heaven ? Christ has gained for us on the 
cross infinite merits, as also sanctifying grace, which ennobles the most 
trifling act performed with a good intention, and renders it worthy of a 
great reward. Do you fear that the loving sorrow which overwhelms your 
hearts to-night will vanish with the morrow's dawn, or that struggling with 
passion's fierce assaults, you will for a few brief years still thread the 
narrow path, then falter on the way, and fail at last ? Do you fear for 
your final perseverance ? Christ has gained this grace on the cross for all 
who are of good will. Have confidence, therefore, penitents. Look to 
your Saviour ; behold ! his head is inclined to give you a kiss of peace ; 
his arms are extended to draw us to his reconciled heart, which is open to 
show us his love. That adorable heart was opened then, a sure refuge for 
sinners. It is open to-night. It is the living and life giving fountain of 
eternal life, the glowing furnace of divine love, the infinite treasure of the 
Divinity ! More than ever is it opened in our days, beloved Christians, 
since the Saviour himself declared that he reserved it as a last best gift to 
mankind " to win their love. " His precious blood is flowing from his 
wounds to be balm for the wounds of the soul, and his suffering form 
proclaims in a loud voice, the consoling truth : " / desire not the death of the 
wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way *and live. 

PERORATION. 

Come, therefore, penitent Christians ! cast aside all fear, come with 
child-like confidence, with hearts burning with love for your crucified 
Saviour and an earnest determination to offend God no more. Approach 
him who so lovingly opens his arms to extend you forgiveness from the 
cross. Go to the foot of the cross, and in the precious blood streaming 
from the sacred wounds write the holy resolution to die to sin and to live 
by virtue for him who died to win for us eternal life. Amen. 



260 Lenten Sermons. 

VII. 
GOOD FRIDAY. 



" He said : It is consummated. And bowing his head he gave up the ghost. " — John 
19 : 3o. 

This mournful day calls us beneath the cross of our Redeemer. Cal- 
vary stands before the eyes of our soul, and on its summit the cross of re- 
demption, between two other similar instruments of torture. On this 
cross our Saviour hangs, from his gaping wounds the blood flows down in 
streams on Calvary's hallowed ground. On this cross Jesus, who was con- 
sumed with love for man, and scattered blessings whithersoever he went, 
hangs between heaven and earth, while the burning heat of the Palestine's 
sun pours down on his uncovered head. Beneath the cross stands Mary, his 
mother, with the other women and the disciple of love. Let us, dear Christians, 
join this sorrowful group and consider the last words of our dying Saviour, 
words of the greatest weight, which, summoning all his remaining strength 
he cries in his death agony : "It is consummated!" What is consummate 

I. The malice of man. 

II. The justice of God, and 

III. The love of fesus. 

Part I. 

The malice of man. When we look at that adorable head, and think 
how many times the Saviour had not, whereon to lay it: when we reflect 
how often he was exposed to drenching rains, to cutting winds, and to 
discomforts of every kind throughout his earthly life, we weep to see that, 
even in his dying hour, it must rest against the rough wood of the cross, 
and at the slightest movement feel the sharp sting of the crown of thorns. 
When we look at that face which in its divine beauty was so dear to his 
blessed Mother, but which now, all bruised as it is, and livid with the blow of 
a sacrilegious hand, is dearer and more precious far, we bow in profound 
adoration and mourn for the malice of man. When we behold those 
loving eyes, which were ever ready to shed tears of compassion for the 
afflicted, now almost closed, filled with the dust of the crowded streets, 
dim and well nigh sightless, we glance at the Queen of Martyrs and mingle 
our tears with hers. When we see those pallid lips which were ever the 
medium of all-holy and beautiful thoughts, now bereft even of a drop of 
water to assuage their burning thirst, we resolve that by a good Christian 
life we, at least, will be far removed from the diabolical malice of man. 
O ! sacred hands, O ! wounded feet that did so much, and took so many 
steps for love of us. Why do you permit this outrage, O ! heavenly 



Lenten Sermons. 261 

Father, why are they fastened with cruel nails to the cross ? Listen to the 
answer : ' ' Jesus, for your salvation, accepts it all, and does not rebel at the 
malice of man. Finally the heart of the man-God, pierced, and shedding 
its blood for love of us, calls upon us to condemn and execrate the vile 
malice of man. " 

Yes, my brethren, we stand beneath the cross, on which is exhibited the 
masterpiece of man's malice, the murder of the Son of God before heaven 
and earth. If we consider the chain of impious deeds of which this 
murder, is the last link, — O God, in what a light do we behold human 
malice ! At first, our eye meets Judas, the so highly-favored, yet perfi- 
dious, disciple, who for thirty pieces of silver betrays his Lord and Master. 
Did avarice ever manifest itself in a more vividly detestable nature ? Con- 
sider also attentively, the council of the high-priests and Pharisees, who 
decree the death of Christ for no other reason than because by the 
sanctity of his life, the power of his words, his many charitable acts he 
gained over the hearts of all who came within his sphere an ascendancy, 
which awoke their jealous rage. Where will you find envy in a more 
abominable, more malicious form ? Listen how Peter, the rock, asserts 
with an oath that he knows not Christ, and see how all the Apostles have 
fled ! Do you know of a more shameful example of human weakness, 
of human inconsistency? And when Herod rejoices to see Jesus, 
that he may demand from him, for the sake of mockery, a miracle, 
though our Saviour could have called upon hundreds of miracles as so 
many witnesses ; is not thereby the entire spiritual emptiness and blind- 
ness of unbelief united with malice, laid bare to view ; unbeliefwhich, in- 
stead of blushing with shame, ventures even to boast of wisdom ? But 
human malice goes still further ! Pilate, in presence of the accusers and 
witnesses, who, by conflicting arguments and testimonies in which one 
word is but a falsification of the next, become hopelessly confused, is con- 
vinced of the innocence of Jesus, and publicly, with a loud voice, affirms 
it repeatedly, before all the people — but, nevertheless, has him scourged 
and condemns him to be crucified. Oh ! the cowardice and malice of one 
who holds the office of a judge ! Lacerated by the fearful scourging at 
the pillar, with the crown of thorns on his bleeding head, and the mantle 
of derision about his wounded shoulders. Jesus stands like a meek lamb 
full of divine benignity, before the assembled crowd. What feeling heart 
can bear to behold that bruised form ? On the contrary, what heart does 
not turn with disgust from the dissolute appearance and the black heart of 
Barabbas ? But the terrible barbarity of the inhuman rabble demands the 
release of Barabbas and the death of the Son of God, crying out : " Cru- 
cify him, crucify him!" And when, at last, hanging on the cross — when 
instead of words of compassion, which are offered to every sufferer, words 
of mockery, derision and blasphemy are heaped upon him — human 
malice has reached its climax. It is consummated ! 



262 Lenten Sermons. 

Behold the malice to which man is led by sin. Oh ! let us, therefore, 
kneel at the foot of the cross and renounce sin, which can transform us 
into such monsters of iniquity. Let us renounce sin, which had, on that 
terrible day on Calvary, which has to-day, and which will have always for 
its sure result, the dreadful punishment of an angry God. God is love, my 
dearest brethren, but he is the Eternal Justice too. His justice does not 
begin until we have slighted his love, and trampled upon his mercy, but 
O ! it comes. He will cast his fiery bolts upon the sinner, and hurl him 
to the fathomless depths of hell, that burning abyss, from which the divine 
hand had striven to hold him by mercy and love. Yes, the amazing ex- 
tent of that love, it would almost seem, strove to surpass the justice which 
could no longer save the sinner from his awful doom. Yes ! the result of 
sin is the terrible, the never-ending punishment of an avenging God. 

Part II. 

This also we learn when looking at the cross, on which the justice of 
God is made manifest and consummated in its fulness. The Passion, my 
dear Christians, is the greatest manifestation of divine justice. Our Re- 
deemer had taken upon himself the sins of all mankind. They weighed 
upon him in the garden of Gethsemane, while he was prostrated to the 
earth in a bloody sweat, and their punishment stood before him like a bit- 
ter chalice, which he must drain to the very dregs. His whole being 
trembled, and he prayed so beseechingly three times : " O, my Father, if 
it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. " But it was the will of his 
heavenly Father that he should drink the bitter cup. And although he 
had received from heaven the testimony: "This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased'' — he is, nevertheless, delivered up to cruelties, the 
most atrocious that can be conceived. Neither men nor all the Angels 
could make satisfaction to the justice of God for sin ! On the cross, then, 
we hear this beloved Son lament : "My God, my God, why hast thou for- 
saken me}" But the Father seems not to hear his Son, all the rigor of 
divine justice falls upon him ; he is plunged into an ocean of pain so 
great, that he complains with the prophet : " all ye that pass by the way, 
attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow, for he hath made a 
vintage of me, as the Lord spoke in the day of his fierce anger. — Lament 
1-12. And although the earth trembled and the rocks were rent for ex- 
cess of pain at the sufferings of the Lord ; although the sun refused to be 
witness of his death and placed a dark veil between the world and his 
brilliant light, Christ must suffer and agonize to his last breath. No loving 
hand tenderly wipes the cold sweat of death from his brow ; no one stays 
the flowing blood ; no one pours healing balsam into his smarting 
wounds; no one alleviates his pain ; no one whispers, in gentle accents, 
consoling, kindly words ! 



Lenten Sermons. 263 

What then will be the fate of the sinner who falls into the hands of the 
just God, if the well-beloved, innocent Son of God had to endure such 
agony, such pain, such a death, for the sins which, alas were ours, not his 1 
Truly, at the feet of the crucified Redeemer, we comprehend the weight of 
sin and the punishment thereof. Therefore, let us not be of the number to- 
those who, devoid of feeling, trample continually on the blood of Christ I 
No ! with a heart full of sorrow and eyes filled with tears let us kneel at 
the foot of the cross and vow : O my dear Saviour, never will we sin 
again, at least, never will we commit a wilful sin. If we make this vow in 
all earnestness and keep it during our life, then Golgotha will be to us the 
place where Jesus exhibits his love in all its divine completeness. 

And as we approach the close of our last meditation for this Lent, con- 
centrate your thoughts upon this mighty, this almost fabulous love. Think 
again of the accumulation of sin which our Saviour took upon himself, 
making it, as it were, almost his very own. In exchange he gave those 
sufferings which I have endeavored to portray for you, and paid his 
precious blood to. ransom us from the debt into which we had so thought- 
lessly — nay even willfully and wickedly rushed, all regardless of what might 
come. Yes, Christians, God loves us, he wishes our love, even the love 
of our poor miserable earthly hearts. You will not refuse him — you can- 
not. Oh ! let us to-night lay the coveted gift at his sacred feet! 

Part III. 

During his whole earthly life our Redeemer manifested to sinful man his 
infinite love. Out of love for us he descended from the glory of heaven 
into a wretched stable; out of love for us he assumed the form of a servant, 
bearing for many years the labors and hardships of an earthly life; out of 
love for us no labor was too difficult for him, no sacrifice too great, no 
ingratitude so discouraging that it forced him to abandon his aim. With 
truly touching love he went as the Good Shepherd in search of the lost 
sheep. The towns and cities of Judea through which he traveled, the 
hungry he fed, the sorrowful whom he consoled, the sick whom he 
healed, all the miracles which he performed, every drop of sweat, the tears 
which so often bedewed his divine eyes, — are so many testimonies of his 
divine love. But at the close of his life this love manifests itself in the most 
perfect manner, in its completeness. For love of us he gave his tender 
body to be scourged at the pillar, and his head to be crowned with thorns; 
he suffered himself to be innocently condemned to death; for love of us he 
walked through the streets of Jerusalem with the heavy cross on his 
wounded shoulders, and although bending, even falling, to the ground, 
beneath its weight, he is determined to carry it to the end, to Mount 
Calvary, where he was to be nailed to it and suffer inexpressible torment. 



264 Lenten Sermons. 

And when his feet were fastened by cruel nails so that he could no longer 
walk about to do good, when his hands were nailed to the cross and he 
could no longer raise them to bless, when his head sank heavily on his 
breast and his eyes began to break — he had still a heart which was not 
pierced, and a tongue that he could use to manifest and express his love 
for us sinners." "■/ thirst!" he cries. For what? For the souls of sin- 
ners, for our souls. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they 
do; " thus he prays for his enemies, for his murderers, for us. They knew, 
or, at least, they could have known, had they desired it, as many in our 
days know, or, at least, could know, but they harden their hearts and wil- 
fully close their eyr:s to the truth. He gives his holy Mother to us as our 
Mother: " Behold thy Mother!" And when a poor sinner, at the last 
hour, implores his mercy, the Saviour speaks these words of consolation to 
him: "Amen, I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise." 
And now the sacred blood flows more slowly, it comes drop by drop from 
the almost empty veins; the Angels of peace veil their faces and weep bit- 
ter tears beside the dying Redeemer. Once more, he collects all his remain- 
ing strength, and raising his head, cries with a loud voice: "It is consum- 
mated!" It is consummated — the sacrifice of atonement, the sacrifice of 
redemption. These words are the great Ite Missa est of the high-priest 
Jesus, at the end of his sacrifice. Ite Missa est, Go, Mass is finished, says 
also the priest, having offered the sacrifice of the New Law. 

PERORATION. 

Yes, " It is consummated." Mankind is saved, heaven is re-opened, the 
debt of sin is paid, death is conquered. " It is consummated." The Angels 
bear the words on high, through the clouds, to the throne of eternal justice, 
and God looks down upon the great sacrifice of atonement on Calvary, with 
a reconciled countenance, the sword of vengeance drops from his hand, 
the wall of separation between heaven and earth is thrown down, and 
through heaven's vast expanse the Angels, exultingly cry out: "// is con- 
summated!" And in the cross the sinner now finds grace, the afflicted, con- 
solation, and all who desire it, heaven. This is the petition which to-day 
I lay at the feet of our crucified Redeemer. My dear Saviour, grace for 
the sinner, consolation for the sad and afflicted, and for all, who desire 
it, heaven ! Amen. 



The Sinner's Relation to God. 



SEVENTH COURSE. 



SEVEN SERMONS. 



Lenten Sermons. 267 



The sinners relation to God. 



1. 

VENIAL SIN. 



"Blessed is the man that always fear eth sin." — Prov. 21. 

Permit me, once more, my beloved brethren, at the opening of this 
holy season of Lent to direct your gaze to your holy Redeemer, sufferings 
and dying for the sins of mankind. 

"Behold," said he to his disciples, "we go up to Jerusalem, and all 
things shall be accomplished which were written by the Prophets concern- 
ing the Son of Man. For he shall be delivered to the gentiles, and shall 
be mocked and scourged and spit upon, and after they have scourged him 
they will put him to death." 

With what meekness must our amiable Jesus have said this ! With 
what grief and anguish must he have gone forth, beholding in anticipation 
all the horrible tortures which awaited him ! See him, in spirit, sorrowful 
unto death in the garden of Gethsemane, agonizing in prayer, and bathed 
in a bloody sweat. Look upon that rabble, those frenzied executioners, 
who fetter him and drag him before his unjust judges. Hearken to those 
false accusations ! Behold him after his cruel scourging ! His head is 
crowned with thorns; he sinks to the earth under his heavy burden. 
Stretched out upon the cross, his hands and feet transpierced, listen to him, 
as he sways between heaven and earth, exclaiming in utter dereliction of 
spirit: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me! " 

My dear Christians, all that the entire human race has ever suffered col- 
lectively, the Redeemer of the world endured in his own person, in the 
way of the cross. Is it not, therefore, just and proper that, during this 
penitential season, we should accompany our Lord to Calvary, and, in the 
consideration of his Passion, suffer, as it were, with him ? Is it not right that 
we should now gather round the cross by which we, delivered from sin and 
hell, and, ignoring, for the time being, all the joys and pleasures of life, 
endeavor by prayer, fasting, and penitential tears to make some satisfaction 



268 Lenten Sermons. 

to our outraged God ? Is it not meet that, clasping the crucifix, we should 
kiss the imprint of his sacred wounds, while we cry out: "Why, O blessed 
Saviour, why hast thou been immersed in this sea of bitterness? " And the 
pallid lips of the dying God-man will reply: "Your sins have caused all 
this ! " My beloved friends, whenever we gaze upon the cross, we should 
call to mind with terror the words which our Saviour addressed to the pious 
women of Jerusalem who met him upon his sorrowful journey. "Weep 
not over me, but over Jerusalem and your children; you have been the 
cause of these torments, of this ignominous death ! I die upon the cross, 
that I may blot out your sins ! " 

O dearly beloved, can we behold our Redeemer expiring upon the cruel 
Tree, and still continue ungratefully to offend him ? Can we contemplate 
his bitter Passion, and go on sinning, go on renewing his agony by our 
transgressions ? In this holy Lenten season, which sets before us in a 
special manner the tortures we have inflicted on him and the terrible ex- 
piation our sins demanded, what can we do more beneficial to our souls, 
than reflect upon the magnitude of sin, excite within ourselves an intense 
hatred for it, and exclaim from the bottom of our hearts: "From this day, 
O my God, no more sin ! " 

Let us, then, examining more closely into the nature of sin and its rela-. 
Hon to God; consider: 

I. The nature and gravity of venial sin, and how these slight faults lead 

one onto 
II. Mortal sin, which when persevered in becorries 
III. Habitual grievous sin, which begets 
IV. Obduracy and final impenitence; the only means whereby to escape 

that terrible end, being, with God's help, 
V. To repent; and finally, 
VI. To experience that mercy which is promised to the penitent sinner. 

Let us then consider, in the first place, the nature and enormity of venial 
sin. How true, my brethren, are the words of St. Augustine, when he 
says that we do not always weigh the malice of sin in the proper scales. 
There are many sins which we would be inclined to consider trifling, did 
not the Holy Scriptures assure us to the contrary. For example, if Jesus 
himself had not asserted it, who would venture to declare that the man 
who cries out angrily to his brother: "Thou fool!" commits a sin 
deserving of hell fire ? In like manner many grievous offences are com- 
mitted against God's law in the guise of petty faults and defects. 

Venial sin is a transgression of a law slightly binding, or when the act is 
not committed with full advertance and consent of the will. He who, for 



Lenten Sermons. 269 

instance, tells a lie in jest, or steals five cents, or indulges a self-com- 
placent thoughts commits a venial sin, because there is no actual malice in 
these faults. Although offensive to the infinite sanctity of God, they pro- 
ceed mainly from human frailty. It is also venial sin when a grave com- 
mandment of God or of his Church is broken, but without full knowledge 
and consent. Such sins appear as trifles; nevertheless, they stain the white 
robe of our innocence, grieve the heart of an all-holy God, and gradually 
lead to wilful mortal sin. 

The enormity of venial sin may be better known from a contempaltion of 
the temporal punishments incurred by those who have committed it. When 
the Angels led forth Lot and his wife, from the judgment of fire and brim- 
stone that was destroying Sodom and Gomorrah they were forbidden to 
look back at the doomed cities. Through curiosity, and perchance 
through pity for others Lot's wife disobeyed the divine command, and was 
immediately turned ino a pillar of salt. Behold, how dreadful the pun- 
ishment of a fault committed without reflection ! Moses, the faithful ser- 
vant of God, for a single venial sin was excluded from the promised land, 
for which he had sighed for forty years. Yea, more, to add to his penance 
the Lord permitted him to see at a distance the delights of which he had 
been deprived. And what sin, think you, had he committed ? Once, in 
the desert, the Lord commanded him to strike the rock that water might 
burst forth for the thirsting people. Moses doubted whether such a miracle 
could be granted to the ungrateful Jews. This was the sin for which he 
was so severely punished. David, we are told, once mustered his warriors 
through vanity, desiring to see how many valiant men he had in his army. 
This was, certainly, not a grievous sin, and yet, as the holy Scriptures tell 
us, God permitted seventy thousand of his men to perish in punishment of 
his vanity, God is just. He punishes no offence more severely than it 
deserves. What a dreadful evil, then, must even venial sin be in his eyes ! 
Should we not tremble at the bare thought of it. If he punished with a 
like justice every curious glance, all indecorous behavior, all envy of the 
neighbor's good, and every idle word, how terribly will he not chastise us 
Christians for our vain thoughts, our pride in our perishable possessions, 
our exaggerations, and other glaring defects ? 

I must here refute an objection which is often heard. What harm is 
there in a careless word, a trifling lie, a profane expression that can really 
hurt no one ? My Christian friends, I will answer you thus : What is it if 
we call our brother a fool? It can surely do our neighbor no harm, and 
yet our Lord threatens us with judgment and damnation for all such offen- 
ces. Why ? Because they injure your soul and offend God, being op- 
posed to his holy commandments. The Saints realized this truth, hence 
their dread of venial sin. St. Jerome tells us : " All the sufferings of this 



270 Lenten Sermons. 

world, war, famine, and pestilence do not injure mankind as much as a sin- 
gle voluntary venial sin offends God ; and if we could abolish all these 
evils by committing one sin, we dare not commit it. " Yes, he even goes 
further : "If," he says to Christians, "if you were able to convert all the 
sinners of the universe by the commission of one venial sin, aye, even were 
you able thereby, to deliver all the holy souls from Purgatory, you dare not 
commit that sin. " 

Another reason why we should flee from this great evil of venial sin is, 
because God will hereafter punish it so severely. 

Our Saviour, the Eternal Truth, once said : "And they shall render an 
account of every idle word." Idle, useless words are assuredly not mortal 
sins, and yet a severe reckoning awaits them after death. In the Psalms 
we read these words of the Lord : "I will judge justices." What does 
this mean? Surely not that Christ will judge mortal sins. Such grievous 
transgressions of the divine law cannot be called justices. To judge Jus- 
tuses " will be to judge the defects even in our good works. Voluntary 
.sell-complacent thoughts, idle words, emotions of vanity, petty injustices, — 
these are the faults which Almighty God will severely chastise. And, in 
another portion of Holy Writ, we are warned that we shall not come forth 
from the prison of divine justice until we have paid the last farthing. 
What does that mean ? Is it a grievous thing to steal a farthing ? Cer- 
tainly not, but the justice of God demands satisfaction for even the smallest 
defect, and until satisfaction is made, the offender remains shut out in 
suffering from the unveiled glories of the Beatific Vision. 

My dearly beloved brethren, behold the mercy of the Sovereign Judge 
as manifested in the doctrine of Purgatory ! God cannot forgive even the 
smallest sin unless it has been atoned for by penance ; hence, his love has 
provided a place of purgation for his elect, wherein they must be purified 
from the dross of failings before they can become the pure gold of life 
eternal, Yet, even this clearly shows the terrible light in which he re- 
gards venial sin. The most trifling fault must be expiated, the last farthing 
must be paid. 

Turn to St. Paul, and you will find that he, too, tell us that the just 
shall be saved, " yet so as by fire ; " and, speaking of the torments of Pur- 
gatory, St. Augustine says: "The slightest pain there must be greater 
than all imaginable sufferings of this world taken together. " How great, 
then, must be the evil, for which God has reserved these terrible tortures 
of purgatorial flames ! 

Finally, my dear Christians, consider that venial sin is to be avoided, 
because it gradually leads to mortal sin. We must be explicit. Venial sin 






Lenten Sermons. 271 

in and of itself can never become mortal sin, but (and herein lies one of 
its chief dangers), it gradually disposes the soul to mortal sin. It 
weakens and decreases the love of God in our souls, and by causing us to 
offend him frequently and recklessly, implants in our hearts evil inclina- 
tions towards mortal sin. 

St. Ambrose here makes use of a beautiful simile : Whence comes it, 
says the saint, that so many vessels are shipwrecked ? Is it always attribut- 
able to sudden and violent storms ? No, it is often caused by neglect of 
slight precautions. Perhaps the captain knew there was a tiny leak in his 
ship, but he thought it of no consequence. At the outset, it was so small 
it was scarcely noticed, but the opening grew larger ; the water began to 
creep in, then to fill the lower deck, and when the crew endeavored to stay 
its progress, it was too late, and the vessel sank. Thus, venial sin, which 
is so easily committed, leads almost imperceptibly to mortal sin. Another 
example will assist us in comprehending this. Tell me, pray, whence 
came it that Eve sinned so grievously in Paradise ? She sinned through 
curiosity in looking at the forbidden fruit. This was a venial sin, but it 
led her to delight in looking at the fruit, it filled her with a desire to pos- 
sess it. These seemed like light offences, yet from them sprang the greed 
which prompted her to put forth her hand to touch, to taste, to eat, — in 
short, to commit mortal sin. 

Had David, that man after God's own heart, when his gaze fell upon the 
wife of another, instantly turned away his eyes and banished the evil sug- 
gestion, he would never have yielded to temptation and become an 
adulterer. " He that despiseth small things shall fall by little and little." 

Alas! we need not go to the buried ages to confirm our text. Let us 
simply look at our own lives. How is it, friend, that you have become a 
confirmed drunkard ? Is it not because you accustomed yourself by 
degrees to gratify your appetite for strong drink? Whence comes it that 
yonder young man has become a profligate ? Because he did not carefully 
avoid sinful occasions, and guard sedulously his looks, thoughts, and 
words. Why have numbers perished in prison, or on the gallows, a s 
thieves and murderers ? For the simple reason that they did not shun the 
very first suggestion of dishonesty, or of revenge. Thus, we see that, as 
one cannot attain Christian perfection at a single bound, so neither does he 
suddenly become proficient in evil. There is a gradual growth in all 
things. Venial sin disposes to mortal sin. 

The Saints of God well understood this truth; hence, they fled from the 
smallest occasion of evil, and practised the most rigid austerities to atone 
for their little imperfections. We are told of St. Ignatius that, when a 



272 Lenten Sermons. 

thoughtless boy, in company with other children, he once took some fruit 
from a neighbor's garden. This, assuredly, was not a mortal sin. But 
mark the penance! When he became a priest, remembering this fault of 
his youth, he once took occasion to preach upon the vice of theft. In the 
course of his sermon, he accused himself publicly of this sin, and seeing the 
owner of the fruit among his hearers, he besought him vehemently to 
pardon him, offering his entire fortune to be distributed to the poor in 
satisfaction for his fault. Think you, if he had overlooked his childish 
fault, and had persevered in committing others like it, he would ever have 
become the great Saint Ignatius ? Certainly not. St. Aloysius, too, when 
but five years old, and in camp with his father not only stole some gun- 
powder from the soldiers' pouches, but also learned from them the use of 
certain profane expressions, his innocence preventing him from com- 
prehending their malice. Nevertheless, in late years, he always spoke of 
these childish errors as his "two great crimes," and he never mentioned 
them without sobs and tears. We, my dear brethren, consider these, the 
scruples of an exaggerated piety, but would Aloysius have ever attained the 
pinnacle of his exalted sanctity, if he had made little of these early defects? 

Let us compare ourselves with these saintly models. How easily we 
commit venial sin! Daily — may I not say hourly — we behold ourselves 
enraged at the slightest injury, impatient under trifling contradiction, 
finding fault with our neighbor's petty defects, whilst we ourselves commit 
much more serious offences! Do we not violate charity by equivocal ex- 
pressions, resort to falsehood in small matters ? Are we not habitually 
careless and distracted in prayer ? Do we not often pronounce the holy 
name of God without due reverence? In short, are we not guilty of all the 
faults of which ever the just are obliged to accuse themselves, seven times 
a day ? And what penance do we perform ? We repent verbally to-day, 
and to-morrow, we repeat the same offences. Let us reflect upon the 
enormity of even one venial sin, on the temporal punishments which it 
deserves, on the severity of its judgment after death. Let us fully digest 
the terrible thought, that venial sin disposes the soul to mortal sin. The 
Saints have done the most rigid penance for it, and if we do not imitate 
their example, we cannot expect to succeed in the all-important affair of 
our eternal salvation. Either the Saints were foolish in thus chastising and 
mortifying themselves for light faults, or we are fools in making little of 
our venial sins. None will dare assert the former, and if we admit the truth 
of the latter, what remains for us to do? 



Lenten Sermons. 273 

II. 
MORTAL SIN. 



" Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent: for if thou comest near 
them, they will take hold of thee." — Sirach 21: 2. 

We have learned in our previous meditation what a serious matter 
deliberate venial sin is, in the eyes of God. We should prefer every sort 
of suffering therefore, rather than be guilty of a single vain thought, a 
thoughtless or profane word, or a trifling falsehood; for these every-day 
faults cost our Redeemer many sad sighs, and so wrung his Sacred Heart 
with anguish, as to force from him the bloody sweat of Gethsemane. The 
Most Holy One detests even the smallest sin; the Most Just God punishes 
in this world and in the next, him who transgresses his commands. It is 
gross ingratitude to our loving Jesus to consider venial sin as of no con- 
sequence, and to daily drink in iniquity like water; it is downright cruel, 
reckless, and malicious to dispose ourselves to commit grievous mortal 
sins, whereby we render fruitless his bitter Passion and death, crucifying 
him anew. For, since the God-Man died on Calvary to satisfy for our 
sins, so we, when we sin grievously, renew his ignominious death, tramp- 
ling wantonly under foot his precious blood. Consequently, if we have 
resolved never to commit any sin, no matter how slight, we should to-day 
renew this our firm purpose, because mortal sin deprives us of everything, 
inasmuch as it renders useless the crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

Beloved Christians, we would need perceptions as pure as those of God 
himself, to conceive the full enormity of grievous sin. Let us, however, re- 
flect, at least, upon the terrible evil of 

I Mortal sin, and of 
II. Habitual mortat sin. 

I. — That man is guilty of mortal sin who, with full consciousness and 
knowledge, and with perfect freedom of will grievously transgresses a com- 
mandment of God, or of his Church. For instance, he who knows that 
he is bound under pain of mortal sin to hear Mass on Sundays and holi- 
days, yet who, through indifference and without legitimate cause, neglects 
to do so; or he who, through contempt for the precept of the Church, wil- 
fully partakes of flesh-meat on forbidden days; he who understands that 
every sin against the Sixth Commandment is grievous, yet who willingly 
consents to impure thoughts, indulges in vile language or unchaste acts — 
all such are guilty of mortal sin. In short, mortal sin. is a heinous trans- 
gression of the divine law which deprives the soul of sanctifying grace, 



274 Lenten Sermons. 

and renders it subject to eternal damnation. It is called mortal, because 
it kills the soul and precipitates it into hell. When the sinner considers 
his sins in their relation to God, their malice becomes evident. Calmly 
and reasonably examined, what is mortal sin ? First of all, it is dis- 
obedience in important matters, aye, it is open rebellion against God. Do 
we believe this ? Let us reflect. Besides being our Creator, God is our 
Lord and Master, whom we are bound to serve and obey. All creation 
serves God, except the sinner who, in committing grievous sin, solemnly 
renounces his allegiance to God, substituting in stead the rule of his own 
evil will and bad passions. What audacity, what rebellion! The person 
who is guilty of mortal sin, says practically to his Lord: "I know I ought 
to serve Thee, but I now recognize Thee no longer as my Master ! My own 
perverse will now takes the place of Thy commandment. I will not serve! 
I shall do as I please! " What temerity! Imagine you see a strong man, 
holding high in the air over a yawning abyss, a refractory boy. Would it 
not be the height of madness at such a moment for the boy to scoff at him 
who holds in his hands his very life? It is simply inconceivable; yet the 
sinner gives evidence of just such insanity. He knows that his life hangs 
by a mere thread which Almighty God at any moment may cut asunder, 
and yet he offends him, he mocks him ! 

Besides disobedience, there is also the grossest ingratitude in mortal sin, 
since all that we have and are is the gift of God. Even the irrational 
animal is grateful to his benefactor, but the sinner uses his gifts for the 
purpose of offending the Giver, sin being a misuse of temporal goods, and 
of the powers and faculties of the body and soul. What would you think 
of a beggar to whom you had kindly given an alms, if he were straightway 
to buy poison for the money in order therewith to end your life ? Thus 
the sinner acts who converts the benefits he has received into means whereby 
to offend his good God. The Saints, filled with the love of their Lord, 
could not conceive the possibility of any one committing mortal sin, which 
they considered the climax of ingratitude. 

Mortal sin is an expression of the greatest contempt for God, the 
Supreme Good, who is worthy of infinite love and of the highest veneration. 
When I sin grievously, I prefer to my Creator my own vile self, or some 
other despicable creature, some temporal advantage or sensual pleasure. 
We sometimes wonder how Judas could ever have been base enough to 
betray his divine Friend and Master for thirty pieces of silver — yet the 
sinner forsakes and sells his Lord for a much smaller compensation — he 
gives up heaven for some base pleasure, for a moment's miserable gratifica- 
tion. 

Finally the grievous sinner makes void so far as in him lies, the merits 
of the redemption purchased by Christ. The man who commits mortal sin 



Lenten Sermons. 275 

by his disobedience, despoils Almighty God of the glory which Jesus re- 
stored to him by his Passion and Death, and of which the sin of Adam 
had deprived him. Jesus Christ opened heaven for us, that we might 
there glorify God eternally ; but the sinner closes the celestial gates by his 
grievous offences and opens the portals of hell, wherein he will blaspheme 
his Creator for all eternity. Our Saviour has, as it were by his death on 
the cross annihilated sin. but he who offends God mortally causes sin to 
live again, that he may cause Christ to die anew. 

It is useless, however, for me to attempt to depict the malice of mortal 
sin, which is as great, as incomprehensible as God himself. It is an offence 
against Infinity, consequently it is of infinite malice. 

With regard to ourselves, mortal sin is followed with desperate conse- 
quences. The gravity of sin and its results are closely connected. Let us 
look up to heaven, there view sin and its consequences, Lucifer and his 
adherents would fain be like unto God, and this, their sin of pride, trans- 
formed them from angels into devils. Ponder well upon this. The supremely 
merciful and patieat God instantly punishes with eternal torments the 
angels, those wonders of creation, and, for a single mortal sin, precipi- 
tates them from the heights of heaven into an abode of unutterable woe ! 
He had never given them any previous example of his omnipotence ; he 
never paused to infuse a single ray of repentance into their hearts ! How 
terrible must not mortal sin be ! After their sin, our first parents, Adam 
and Eve, were driven out of Paradise, that place of delights, and exposed 
to the untold miseries, their sad inheritance being thenceforth transmitted 
to their posterity, to all generations. What a monster must not sin be 
which so afflicts man, the noblest work of God, and converts the earth into 
a vale of tears ! 

The eternity of the pains of hell will also serve to give us some idea of 
the gravity of sin. On former occasions, my dear brethren, we have 
carefully cons'dered the subject of hell, and reflected upon what consti- 
tutes the everlasting suffering of the reprobate. We have weighed care- 
fully, as well, the meaning of that small but momentous word, eternal. 
Can we think of those pains without trembling at the abominable malice 
of mortal sin, which merits such terrible chastisement ? 

If, lastly, the God-man in expiating sin, underwent the ignominious 
death of the cross, if the Most Holy expired upon the Tree of Calvary, be- 
tween two thieves, tell me, dear Christians, what sort of an evil must 
mortal sin be which demanded such a sacrifice ? 

Sin has caused all these sufferings, these punishments, temporal and 
eternal, what think you must be the condition of that soul, and in what 
deadly peril must it not be, that has heaped up sin upon sin ? 



276 Lenten Sermons. 

II. — As venial sin gradually disposes to mortal sin, so he who falls into 
a grievious sin seldom stops at the first offence. Unless a ray of extraord- 
inary grace, a powerful movement to repentance overtake him in time, he 
will go on heaping up numberless crimes upon his conscience. Take, for 
example, the drunkard, who has no sooner steeped himself in the fumes of his 
brutal vice, ere he hastens to add to his sin of drunkenness, that of murder or 
impurity. Or that slothful Catholic who postpones his Easter duty ; he will 
very probably soon omit attendance at Masses of obligation, or fail to 
observe the fasts of the Church. In short there are, unfortunately, very 
few who, having committed one mortal sin, stop there. Once blunted by 
vice in their spiritual perceptions, what concern is it of theirs as to their 
soul's salvation, as to the one thing necessary ? 

Beloved brethern, it is an article of faith that God gives to every man 
a certain measure of grace which is lost by sin. It varies in different indi- 
viduals, and is an inscrutable mystery to us, but we know that it is ac- 
corded to each man in sufficient quantity to enable him to accomplish his 
salvation. 

With a divine patience, God waits for some sinners many long years. In 
other cases, his chastisement descends upon them after their second cr 
third fall into sin. It is certain that whenever the measure of God's grace 
is filled up, God's justice descends upon the guilty one. We have the 
testimony of Holy Writ upon this point. When the Scribes and Pharisees 
pursued our Saviour in order to put him to death, he said to them : "Fill 
ye up, then, the measure of your fathers." Our omniscient Redeemer 
foresaw their ruin on account of their stiffneckedness, and, therefore, he 
told them : You still have grace, the hour of divine vengeance has not yet 
come ; but when you have put me to death, then is the measure of your 
sins full, and divine vengeance will overtake you. 

This was literally fulfilled. St. Augustine hence concludes that dWine 
forbearance waits until the measure of grace is filled up ; but when this has 
come to pass, the sinner's punishment begins. Pardon is then no longer 
possible since no further grace is granted. What a fearfully alarming 
truth ! To know that the measure of his grace must one day be filled up, 
but to be equally uncertain as to when it shall be accomplished, is, indeed, 
a fearful and melancholy truth for the sinner. 

The prophet Amos, speaking in the name of God, declares that his pa- 
tience will forgive three sins only, but to the fourth offence condign pun- 
ishment shall be meted out. 

Hearken, O sinner, to the divine voice, during this holy Lenten season, 
telling you : "I have already pardoned thee not three, but, perhaps, three 
hundred sins ; thy measure of sin is now full ; the forfeiture of grace is 



Lenten Sermons. 277 

followed by eternal reprobation. I have been calling thee for three years, 
nay more, through the voice of my minister. Take advantage of this holy 
season and enter into thyself; make a good confession, cast off the old 
man, repent before it is too late ! Desist, O impure man, from thy abom- 
inable vices ! Be earnest in the matter of eternal salvation, for, after thy 
next sin, my patience and forbearance will assuredly end for thee. Amend 
thy ways, O careless trangressor of the percept of fasting; perhaps thy next 
sin may bring down upon thy guilty head my wrath. Give up thy unjust 
practices, thou defrauder ! Put a stop to thy excesses, thou wretched 
drunkard, lest thy first relapse serve to fill thy measure of sin and cast thee 
headlong into hell ! 

Whenever our Saviour healed a sick person, he was accustomed to say : 
<£ Sin no more ! " thereby proclaiming sin as the cause of sickness. In the 
case of a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years, he added : when he 
had adjured him : "Sin no more," lest some worse thing happen thee ! " 
What would he thereby insinuate ? What could be more than to be sick 
for nearly forty years ? Eternal reprobation, when the measure of grace 
has been exhausted. We should reflect seriously upon these words : "Sin 
no more lest some worse thing happen thee ! " God sends to many the 
warning of a serious sickness, but it is disregarded. Other crosses and 
sufferings perhaps are laid upon them ; their dearest relatives are taken 
from them ; but all these gracious hints are -ignored. Having rejected 
these, their final graces, matters, at length, culminated for them in eternal 
ruin. O ! how often has not God called the sinner ! He warns him to 
employ well his opportunities of salvation ; to amend a life of sin, but in 
vain ; his justice then overtakes and punishes such reckless contempt of 
his graces. 

O sinful man ! could you but penetrate the veil of the divine decrees, 
you might read in God's inner sanctuary these words, as dreadful, as awe- 
inspiring for you as was the handwriting on the wall to the guilty Belchaz- 
zar : " I will wait patiently for one sinner ; Jive years for another ; but as 
for you I will take vengeance on you after the ve?y next sin you commit /" 

Dare you accuse God of injustice when you know that grace is a gratui- 
tous and unmerited gift from above? How many sins can you assure 
yourself you may commit, and go unpunished ? How can you feel secure 
for a single moment ? 

Beloved Brethren, if we reflected as we should upon this grave truth, 
and upon the uncertainty of the hour of our death, could we continue to 
sin ? Should we not utilize this holy time by amending our lives ? Would 
that all sinners would avail themselves of it ! Augustine, that great saint 



278 Lenten Sermons. 

of God, once said : " How gladly would I speak to you of the certainty 
of your salvation, were I but sure of it myself! " 

Let us be as careful in this matter as we are in our worldly affairs, and 
choose the right way ; for it is always the best. No man can be perfectly 
certain that he will save his soul. Our only security is in the avoidance of 
all mortal sin. One more deliberate deadly sin and the measure of our 
iniquities may be filled up ! Let us therefore cry out with a firm, and re- 
solute will : " O God ! from henceforth no more sin, no more mortal sins ! 
Amen. 



III. 
HABITUAL SIN. 



" A young man according io his way, even when he is old, will not depart 
from it" — Prov. 22:6. 

As we have already seen, my dear brethren, one single mortal sin 
changed the Angels into devils ; the first sin of Adam and Eve entailed the 
most frightful evil upon them and their posterity ; and to expiate one 
single mortal sin our Redeemer had to undergo and underwent the igno- 
minious death ol the cross. 

If one mortal sin, then, be so terrible in its nature and consequences, 
think you what must be the awful risk incurred when a sinner piles up 
many grievous sins upon his conscience ! The measure of grace he has 
received gradually fails him, and upon the commission of his next heinous 
offence, God's justice may descend upon him in eternal punishment. 

"Had God's mercy not spared me/' said David, in the depths of his 
contrition, " I had been long since in hell !" Consider this well, O sinner, 
for it applies precisely to your case. It has been the mercy and long-suffer- 
ing endurance of your God that have, up to this hour, saved you ; but 
what if this should be the last sin that he will tolerate in you ? Your 
measure of sin being, perhaps, filled up, and divine grace lacking you, 
what then ? Suppose you were to hear this : ' ' Since you have contemned 
all my graces, my justice is now about to overtake you and punish you 
for that grievous sin you are even now committing ! " Do you not realize 
that some of us, nay, perhaps many of those amongst us, have already 
reached this point ? Who, then, is so bold as to feel sure that he may yet 
commit ten or twenty additional mortal sins, and yet go unpunished ? 



Lenten Sermons. 279- 

May not death overtake him whilst in the very act of sin, and precipitate 
him into eternal misery ? 

If, then, it is awful to commit one or several mortal sins, it is assured- 
ly infinitely worse to form a habit of sin, for the habitual sinner has cause to 
dread, at any moment, that the measure of grace allotted him may be ex- 
hausted, and that his soul is trembling on the very verge of eternal repro- 
bation. 

Let us, therefore, to-day, consider the unfortunate state of the relapsing 
sinner, the dangerous condition of the habitual sinner. He is, indeed, to 
be pitied inasmuch as he may almost be said to be already of the number 
of the final impenitent. For 

I. It is very difficult, although 

II. // is not utterly impossible, for the habitual sinner to be truly converted. 

I. It is very difficult for a man who is always falling back into his for- 
mer sins to become converted. I ask you, who are habitual sinners, who 
repeatedly relapse into the same sins in spite of your apparent repentance, 
and oft-repeated good resolutions. In such a case, sin has become a habit. 

You, O intemperate man, you, who perhaps spend your Sundays and 
holidays in drunkenness, not reflecting upon the offences you thereby com- 
mit against God, and the eternal punishment reserved for you ; unmoved 
by the tears of wife and children, indifferent to the fact that they are suffer- 
ing hunger and poverty through you ; you are a habitual sinner. You 
have undermined your own health by your excesses, you are reckless 
about your reputation, which you yourself have ruined ; you culpably and 
wantonly relapse into the very same sins, time and again. You, too, pro- 
fligate, are a habitual sinner, you, who constantly gratify your impure de- 
sires, consentiLg to foul thoughts without a struggle or resistance, and 
actually seeking occasions of sin. 

The habitual sinner comes but once a year to confession. After a hast)' 
examination of conscience, and without having excited himself to true 
contrition, he confesses, without stating the circumstances which materi- 
ally aggravate the malice of his sins. He always returns with the same 
catalogue of mortal sins, the same neglect of Masses of obligation, pro- 
fanation of the Sunday by sinful pleasures, and brutal excesses. He 
looks upon these grievous transgressions as mere trifles, and if he finds 
that it requires an effort to renounce his evil ways, he at once shrinks from 
the sacrifice, and returns to his sins through habit. All those who thus 
close their ears to the admonitions of the ministers of God, and to the 



280 Lenten Sermons. 

warnings of conscience, without struggling manfully against their besetting 
sins, all such may be classed as habitual sinners. 

Our Saviour points out to us the difficulty of converting the habitual 
sinner. He makes it clear to us in three cases mentioned in the Gospel, 
wherein he raised the dead to life, that of the daughter of Jairus, the son 
of the widow or Nairn, and, lastly of Lazarus, who had already been in 
his grave four days. St. Augustine says : ' ' Death denotes sin, resuscita- 
tion, conversion from sin." He continues : In the case of the daughter 
of Jairus, Christ merely said to her : ' Arise ! ' To the son of the widow 
of Nairn, he simply addressed these words : 'Young man, I say to thee, 
arise ! ' But when he stood by the grave of Lazarus, why did his eyes 
overflow with tears, why did he weep and exclaim with a loud voice : 
'Lazarus, come forth!' — ? Why this difference? Was it because the 
awaking of Lazarus required more of an effort to him, who is omnipotent ? 
'No,' replies the saint, 'our Redeemer would hereby give us to under- 
stand that the conversion of a sinner, who has been for a long time, as it 
were, buried in sin, is much more difficult than is that of a novice in 
crime ; the maiden and the youth, who had but recently expired needed 
but a single word to resuscitate them, whereas Lazarus, who had been 
several days dead, required a loud cry from the Saviour to awake him. " 

Peter denies his divine Lord, and one look from Jesus makes him 
weep bitter tears of penitence ? And why ? Because it was his first offence. 
Would one glance suffice to convert the habitual sinner ? Would that it 
were so, for then there would be no unhappy women in the world, whose 
husbands are drunkards and gamblers, no poor parents, whose children 
are spendthrifts and the ruin of their families ! Truly, the condition of 
the man with whom sin has become a habit, is awful. All his faculties, 
his reason, his understanding and his will, are given up to his habit of 
sin. A slave to his passions, he no longer does what he wills, he is in bon- 
dage to habitual sin. His will is constantly growing weaker, his evil in- 
clinations stronger. He frequently commits sins of habit, as though 
against his will, and driven thereto by some mysterious agency. It is just 
as if the Evil One held him by the hair of his head, compelling him to do 
that which no longer yields him any satisfaction or pleasure, for we find 
that the charm seems to desert that which satiates us. O, I have met people 
who, in their better moments, would shed scalding tears, and tell me : "I 
must commit these sins ; they no longer afford me any pleasure, but I 
cannot do otherwise. I must continue them." 

Alas ! wretched slaves of passion ! What a fearful state ! St. Bernard, 
speaking of its hopelessness, says: "The frequent commission of sin 
grows into a habit, which, in time, becomes a necessity, rendering amend- 



Lenten Sermons. 28 i 

ment of life an utter impossibility ; despair follows, and this increases 
until eternal damnation is the logical result. O terrible truth ! 

Behold, O habitual sinner ! what a fate awaits you ! But, you will say, 
perhaps this is an exaggeration. Can you prove the contrary, and show 
me that more habitual sinners are converted than are eternally lost ? Are 
you not yourself an example of how sin has become a second nature to 
you, and how, having abandoned all hope of changing your life, you say : 
"I cannot renounce sin !" — ? You resemble a man lost in a snow-drift, 
who, being aroused from his deep and fatal sleep, is annoyed at being 
called and shaken. He rubs his eyes, and finding that his rescuer has 
withdrawn, at once falls back upon his icy pillow, and in a few minutes 
is asleep — asleep in the embrace of Death ! 

Thus the habitual sinner falls asleep again, even after having in his half- 
waking state made good resolutions of amendment. Referring to this 
class of sinners, the prophet Jeremias says : "When the Ethiopian changes 
his skin, so will you reform, who have through habit become sin-sodden." 
If the former change is impossible, so is it with him in whom sin has be- 
come a second nature ; his conversion is extremely difficult. Perhaps you 
intend, O veteran in crime, to postpone your conversion till the hour of 
death ? Will not repentance of heart then come too late to him whose 
tongue is rapidly becoming dumb forever ? Is not despair more sure to 
seize upon him at the view of his past vicious career ? As a rule, one dies as 
he lives. To, be sure, we have an example, of conversion at the eleventh 
"hour in the case of the good thief, but we have only one such case that we 
may learn never to despair of God's mercy. Dare the sinner count upon 
that mercy he has so frequently trodden under foot ? Can he feel sure 
that, in that dread hour, he will have the grace of sincere repentance and 
be able to cry out : "Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner!'' Will not 
his last state probably be worse than the first. I assure you, O wretched 
man, you who have lived in the habit of some besetting sin for many years, 
who have never thoroughly reformed, but have returned each time to the 
sacred tribunal with the same list of heinous offences, yours will be a ter- 
rible fate, should you continue longer in your present course ! But you 
may ask me : Can I not still amend, can I not do penance and repent, in 
earnest, of my past sins ? Yes, for God's chastising hand has not yet de- 
scended upon you, and now, during this season of grace, he calls you. 
Reform, and even though your conversion be extremely difficult, it is not 
impossible. • 

II. — "God willeth not the death of the sinner, but that he be converted 
and live. " To-day your Saviour extends his bleeding arms towards you, 
to embrace you, O penitent sinner, offering you his love and pardon. "If 



282 Lenten Sermons. 

thy sins be as scarlet," cries out the God of mercy, "they shall become 
white as snow. " The fountain of mercy is now open, and he is ready to 
receive you into his fatherly arms, if you approach him at this holy season 
with a contrite and humble heart. Look at the Prodigal Son, whom you 
here so closely resemble in his sins. Profit by his example. 

This disobedient son asked, in his youthful levity and folly, for his patri- 
mony, that he might spend it as he chose ; so, having received it, he de- 
parted from his father's house. He squandered his substance in riotous 
living, and in sinful excesses with companions, who, in the hour of ad- 
versity, forsook him. He sank so low that he had to stoop to the most 
menial labor, and even then, he lacked the necessaries of life. His 
miseries opened his eyes. Comparing his then wretched condition with 
his past lot in his father's house, he exclaimed amidst tears of repentance : 
" How many hired servants in my father's house have plenty of bread and 
I here perish with hunger !" He arose and went back to that father 
whom he had offended ; he confessed his guilt, and received, in return, 
grace and pardon. If you have imitated the Prodigal in your sins, begin 
now to imitate him in his repentance. You, too, have lost your inherit- 
ance, your state of grace, your adoption as a child of God. You, like 
him, have drained the cup of pleasure to the dregs, and then found your- 
self abandoned by your accomplices in crime. Alas ! they had made you 
their slave, and torn you forcibly away from God, the eternal Fount of all 
true happiness, and now you run to and fro, like a fugitive pursued by 
your passions, or are kicked up and down like a foot-ball at the mercy of 
an avenging evil genius. Depressed and despairing, you involuntarily 
compare your present condition with that of your early days of innocence, 
when you digilently strove to serve your God. Take courage, poor pro- 
digal ! Change your course ere you have reached the brink of the preci- 
pice. You are no further removed from your heavenly Father than was 
Prodigal of the Gospel from his earthly parent. He calls out to-day : 
Return ! or this may be your last moment of grace !" Exclaim then in 
sentiments of the most sincere penitence : ' ' Father, I have sinned against 
heaven and before thee; I am no longer worthy to be called thy child !" 

Look at Mary Magdalene, that model of penitents. She tells you : C< 1 
was at one time such a confirmed sinner, I was so lost and buried in sin 
that even the obdurate Pharisees considered me an outcast ! You could 
not be more thoroughly immersed than I in intemperance, impurity, and 
obstinate resistance of God's grace. I confessed and repented at my 
Saviour's feet, and saved my immortal soul, obtaining mercy and forgive- 
ness. If you have sinned like me, repent like me." 

Why do so many recognize tremblingly their unhappy condition, yet, 
despite their passing good resolutions, refuse to renounce sin and become 



Lenten Sermons. 285: 

new men ? They have not the necessary courage ; they are too weak ; 
they depend too much upon themselves ; they are the slaves of human re- 
spect. If habitual sinners desire to be sincerely converted, they must take 
the first step boldly ; they must, at a single stroke, cut off all the occasions 
that have heretofore proven their ruin, and by prayer and penance ruth- 
lessly extirpate all vices from their hearts. 

Hearken, O drunkard, to the voice of grace ! Henceforth, not another 
drop must cross your lips to gratify your infernal passion. Listen not to 
the pleader's voice, begging for time, protesting that the process of reform 
must be a gradual one. This is mere stratagem of the devil and of your 
evil associates. Thus do they seek to tempt you again to ruin. Be firm, 
and hesitate not. And you, O impure wretch, from this day, no more 
sins ! Habit cries out : " Not all at once ! Avoid bad company, but do 
not break with them too suddenly !" Alas ! what an infatuation ! If your 
house were on fire, would you delay in checking flames ? Would you 
say to the firemen : "Wait awhile, there is time enough yet to put out the 
fire ?" Do you not realize that if you do not take immediate measures to 
extinguish the flames of lust, you will never do it? That which now looks 
difficult will later be impossible. Man, as we know, is by nature weak ; 
but the habitual sinner is doubly so. Yesterday, he seemed determined 
to keep the good resolves he then formulated ; to-day, his courage has 
weakened, and he cannot stand firmly. 

I grant you that a severe struggle is necessary if you would conquer 
your vices ; the way of virtue is in the beginning steep and rough ; the 
kingdom of heaven suffers violence. Is this more than was demanded of 
the martyrs who, for the love of God, joyfully ascended the funeral-pile ? 
Or who were torn limb from limb by wild beasts, or immersed in boil- 
ing oil. 

No matter what may have been your past criminal career, you may, if 
thoroughly in earnest, be converted with the help of God. Now is the ac- 
ceptable time, now is the season of grace ; and Almighty God is ever ready 
to admit you to his friendship. I repeat that it is, of course, difficult, it 
demands sacrifices and strenuous efforts. But, begin now, the longer you 
wait the harder and more laborious it becomes. Do not try to do the 
great work gradually. Tear yourself at once from the trammels of your 
besetting sin ! Cost what it may, even life itself, better lose all that earth 
can give, rather than forfeit the infinite treasure of life everlasting ! If, 
however, you continue longer in your sins, it will be impossible later to 
arouse you, and you may sink into the fatal lethargy of despair and im- 
penitence. 

To thee, O Mary, I recommend all sinners ; touch their hearts ; obtain 
for them sincere conversion and final perseverance ! O Refuge of Sinners ! 
graciously hear us ! Amen. 



284 Lenten Sermons. 

IV. 
FINAL IMPENITENCE. 



' ' The man that with a stiff neck despiseth him that reproveth him, shall 
suddenly be destroyed : and health shall not follow him." — Prov. 29 : 1 . 

Beloved Christians, in setting before you in my three past discourses the 
danger of deliberate venial sin, the terrible risk attached to the commission 
of a single mortal sin, and lastly, the unfortunate condition of him who 
defiantly heaps up sin upon sin, I have entertained the hope that all griev- 
ious sinners within reach of my voice, would turn to the Lord in humility 
of heart, before the justice of God could overtake them. If even venial 
sin offends our Creator, and as we have seen is severely punished even in 
this world ; if, furthermore, mortal sin is terrible in its nature and conse- 
quences, since each particular one may serve to exhaust the measure of 
allotted grace and deliver over the offender to eternal reprobation ; finally, 
if the conversion of the habitual sinner, although exceedingly difficult, is 
not impossible, all hope vanishes at the view of the obdurate sinner, im- 
mersed, so to say, in the ocean of final impenitence. 

If it is hard for us to perfectly comprehend the enormity of mortal sin, 
language fails to express the horrible state of the obstinate sinner who 
commits sin upon sin, resolutely persevering in his impenitence, without a 
single ray of redeeming hope. This determined continuance in mortal sin 
is a sin against the Holy Ghost, which cannot be forgiven in this world or 
in the world to come ; and this, not because the mercy of God cannot 
pardon any sinner who does penance, but because these stiff-necked men 
obstinately refuse to repent, and without repentance, forgiveness is im- 
possible. 

I fondly hope that there are no obstinate nor impenitent sinners among 
my hearers to-day, for such as these are not likely to be present, at least, at 
these Lenten devotions. I simply propose, my beloved Christians, to now 
place before your eyes such a portrait of this monstrous evil as may serve 
to preserve you from ever falling into it. If I can only, with God's help, 
inspire you all with a salutary dread of it, I may then feel secure as to 
your eternal salvation. Let us, therefore, now contemplate 

I. The terrible state of the obdurate sinner ; and 

II. The consequences and end thereof 



Lenten Sermons. 285 

I. — Obduracy in sin and final impenitence are that state of the soul in 
which man, without fear, piles sin upon sin, and without any real inten- 
tion of future amendment. The worst of sinners, as we have seen, will 
have occasional seasons of regret for his past sinful course. At times he 
seems to understand his miserable state, and will even form good resolu- 
tions, which, however, he is too weak to put into practice. But when a 
man has reached this point of spiritual obduracy, he is blinded to his sad 
plight ; he is totally separated from God ; the measure of grace seems ex- 
hausted in his regard, and not a single ray of grace is sent from above to 
enlighten his understanding and to touch his heart. He sins without 
remorse of conscience; and in short, he already bears upon him the stigma 
of eternal reprobation, the natural consequence of sin. As the under- 
standing of our first parents became darkened after their sin (we are 
told they hid themselves among the trees of Eden, and foolishly im- 
agined that the omnipotent and omniscient Lord could not find them !); 
and as clouded intellect and obscured powers are in us, the results of ori- 
ginal sin, so every additional sin of which the obstinate sinner is guilty, 
seems to increase his perversity, until he reaches that highest grade of ob- 
duracy, final impenitence. His sensuality entirely blinds him, his pas- 
sions wholly enchain him, so that he can commit the most atrocious crimes, 
and flatter himself, at the same time, that they are mere human weaknesses. 

This is, indeed a terrible state. We behold a faithful picture of it in 
Pharao. God sent to him his servant Moses, commanding him to deliver 
from slavery his chosen people, the Jews. Moses, armed with the power 
of working miracles, an infallible sign of his being divinely commissioned, 
received from him this insolent reply : "Who is this God whose command 
I must obey? I recognize no Lord over me, none to whom I must yield 
obedience ; I shall not let Israel go." What blasphemous language ! Ob- 
durate and blind contumacy are here manifest. Now, as Moses could 
obtain nothing from this haughty king by mildness, he had to resort to 
means wherewith the Almighty God had furnished him, in order to force 
him to obey through fear. He caused Egypt to be afflicted with seven 
plagues ; he changed water into blood ; he filled the country with locusts 
that destroyed the crops ; he scourged the men and cattle with frightful 
epidemics, yet still the heart of Pharao remained obdurate. Finally, by 
the command of God the first-born of each family was slain, and then at 
the prayer of the oppressed people, the wicked ruler let the Israel go. His 
obdurate heart, however, remained unchanged, and he pursued the chosen 
people as they quitted his dominions, and tried to force them back again. 
But he and all his followers found naught but ruin in the waves of the Red 
Sea. 

If we turn our eyes from this hardened sinner of ancient times, we may 
recognize in some obdurate wretch of our own days the same lamentable 



.2 86 Lenten Sermons. 

characteristics of soul. Yes, there are modern sinners, who indulge in 
even more audacious lauguage than did Pharao. In their blindness they 
say that there is no God ; that nature produced itself ; that the belief in 
eternity and the doctrine of future punishments, etc., are all well enough 
for weak intellects, serving only to keep them in check ; that what is 
called sin is only human nature, and that whatever nature urges one to do, 
•can be no harm. Is not such language from the mouth of a Christian 
more impious than was the utterance of the heathen king of Egpyt ? Do 
not the words of holy Writ apply forcibly to such obdurate sinners? 
" They have eyes and see not, ears and hear not." ''The fool hath said 
in his heart : there is no God. " All the truths such fools attempt to deny 
are taught them by our holy faith, but their vices have extinguished the 
light of their faith. 

As Pharao would not listen to God's warnings and commands, but 
hardened his heart against them, so the obdurate sinner, to whom God's 
admonitions are addressed, upon whom his temporal blessings and bene- 
fits are poured out, continues obstinately in sin. He considers all who 
would lead him to amend his life as his bitter enemies. Like the Jews 
who, when our Redeemer presented to their gaze a picture of their own 
obdurate state, cried out in their blindness : "Now we know that thou 
art a Samaritan and hast a devil," so does the hardened culprit behave to- 
wards those who would admonish him of his sad condition. 

When warnings and admonitions proved of no avail, Pharao was visited 
~by chastisements that served only to make him more hardened. So, too, 
with our modern scoffer. After the divine benefits have been contemned, 
Almighty God sends down untold tribulations upon the unrepentent sin- 
ner. Poverty, disgrace, and manifold trials overtake him ; he is deprived 
by death of those nearest and dearest to him. God, in his infinite mercy 
and patience, endeavors to bring him to a sense of his wickedness. But, 
like a refractory son, who writhes in anguish under the rod of paternal cor- 
rection, the hardened sinner grows furious at his continued trials and mis- 
fortunes as he terms them. He is envious of the happier lot of his fellow- 
men, and he persists in declaring his own tribulations to be the work of a 
capricious fate that maliciously and causelessly persecutes him. He has 
long since renounced his belief in an over-ruling Providence ; and in his 
foolish blindness, he now quarrels with the unlucky star which, he claims, 
nature or destiny has set over his " innocent" head. 

Look about you, my dear brethren, and you will observe that prosperity 
and adversity alike seem unable to arouse the hardened sinner. In the 
face of either an adverse or successful career, the sinful wretch daily be- 
comes more stubborn and impenitent, and more confirmed in his false 



Lenten Sermons. 287 

views of God and religion. This is that state of blindness which is the 
result of, as well as the punishment of sin. 

The traitor Judas presents a horrible portrait of final impenitence. 
What did not the love of Jesus do in order to prevent the Iscariot from 
accomplishing his unspeakable crime of Deicide ? Our Saviour sought to 
soften his heart by admitting him to a participation in the Lord's Supper ; 
and it was at that banquet of love that he admonished the false apostle of 
the awful sin he was about to commit. Hearken to those words : "One 
of you is about to betray me ! " Jesus, in his mercy, further sought to 
deter him : "It were better for him," said the plaintive voice of Infinite 
Love, "it were better for him that he had never been born." Behold, the 
gentle Lamb of God casting himself on his knees before the traitor, and 
tenderly washing his filthy feet ! Yes, and later, when in the Garden of 
Gethsemane, he receives from him the treacherous kiss, he embraces him, 
and whilst shedding tears, exclaims : "Friend, whereto art thou come? 
Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss? " View on one side the ex- 
cess of love and mercy, and on the other, the climax of obduracy and 
blindness ! See, what a man is capable of, when final impenitence or 
rather the unadulterated malice of the devil has laid hold of his heart ! 
Compare the abandoned sinner with Judas. Our Lord has warned him as 
often as he did his traitor apostle. Judas received but once the precious 
Body and Blood of the Man — God ; the sinner has frequently received the 
holy Communion, yet he remains unmoved. Christ washed the feet of 
the Iscariot with water, but the sinner's soul has been cleansed and pur- 
chased by his precious Blood ; and yet he continues stubborn. The Lord 
called Judas "friend ; " he styles us his " brethren. " 

It is horrible enough when the unchaste, by their impurities, when the 
calumniator and the drunkard, by their relapses, add to the terrible weight 
which presses the suffering Redeemer to the earth, but when the impeni- 
tent calmly continue in their heinous crimes, despite every admonition, it 
is simply diabolical ; it is the perfection of malice ! Such an offender 
says practically to God : "I will offend thee, O Lord ! I will remain in 
the mire of my sins ; I will daily and hourly crucify thee anew ! " Truly, 
this is the utterance of an incarnate devil ! And what are the conse- 
quences of all this, and what the end ? 

II. Since the obdurate sinner renders his conversion impossible, the con- 
sequence of his crimes are despair and eternal damnation. In order to 
understand this more clearly we must consider that there are two virtues 
which keep a man united with God, and which, if he has separated him- 
self for a time from his Lord, can still lead him back to the divine favor. 
These are the love, or the fear of God. 



288 Lenten Sermons. 

The love of God is opposed to every sin, for God is the Supreme Good. 
The fear of God avoids sin, because the all-righteous Judge will punish 
him who commits it. Consequently, where these two virtues exist in a 
man's heart, sin gains no admittance ; much less is there any danger of ob- 
duracy in vice. Where divine love and fear are lacking, there are to be 
found disobedience and contumacy, in which case the individual's heart is 
hardened. We now ask : Can an impenitent sinner become converted ? 
No, for his heart lacks these two essential virtues, the love of God, which 
avoids every fault, and the fear of God, which endeavors to do penance 
for past faults. How can a hardened sinner love God ? He sins with, 
the greatest in difference and boldness, just as though he did not believe 
in a God. He fears him not, for he is hardened in crime. His will is 
diametrically opposed to that of his Creator. 

Is it possible for such sinners ever to become converted by the pressure 
of tribulations and misfortunes ? Whilst the ordinary sinner beholds in 
these God's chastisements and his loving invitations to repentance, the ob- 
durate man sees in them merely a cruel destiny, and maliciously upbraids 
Divine Providence for his bad luck. Had he humbly availed himself of 
these visitations of God's mercy he would never have reached the terrible 
state in which he now is. The prophet Jeremiah bewailed thus the 
hardened state of the Jews : "Thou hast struck them, O Lord, and they 
gave no sign of repentance ; thou hast chastised them, and they received it 
not ; it only made their hearts harder like rock, and they would not be 
converted." 

Perhaps the admonitions of the ministers of Christ may cause the con- 
version of these obdurate sinners. No, they rage and fume against the 
priests and preachers of the church, as did the stiff-necked Jews against 
our Saviour. They fail to appreciate the priceless blessings descending 
upon them daily from the hands of God, and consider them all the result 
of chance or mere accident. O Pharao-like hearts, O impenitent sinners ! 
on whom neither prosperity nor adversity has any effect, rush on in 
your sinful career, until Almighty God brings your life to a close by an 
improvided death ! 

Then, too, when a man commits a sin, but desires to rise after his fall, 
God sends him a ray of grace, which, if corresponded with, will event- 
ually lead him to confession and true repentance. The sinner's amend- 
ment, in short, depends upon God's preventing grace, and his own co- 
operation therewith. Even the habitual sinner receives the one, and is 
capable of the other, up to the time when he has finally exhausted his 
measure of grace. 



Lenten Sermons. 289 

But, like the benevolent man who, having frequently seen the beggar on 
whom he has bestowed alms, squandering it for rum, finally determines to 
give the wretched creature no more money, so also God when he beholds 
the sinner resolutely rejecting or abusing the graces of salvation which he 
has so abudantly given him, sternly withdraws himself from that stubborn 
and impenitent soul, and showers on him no more spiritual blessings. 
Without the latter, the sinner has really reached the climax of obduracy. 
Without grace, neither penance or amendment are possible; hence, it fol- 
lows that the impenitent sinners can never be converted, and that nothing 
remains for them but despair and eternal damnation. 

This, as I have said in the beginning of my discourse, is that sin against 
the Holy Ghost which according to our Saviour's own words, can never 
be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come. The magnitude 
of this sin now becomes evident. God pardons the most grievous sin, 
provided there is a repentant heart, but the impenitent man wants no for- 
giveness; he cares nothing for grace, he has reached the climax of malice. 
But do not supernatural agencies still remain ? Would not the working of 
some extraordinary miracle render possible the conversion of the im- 
penitent? They do not deserve to have such wonders worked in their 
behalf, for they have persistently abused and outraged the grace of God. 
Besides, extraordinary miracles have already been wrought in behalf of sin- 
ners. But when ? Why, at the death of Christ when all nature was thrown 
into confusion, when the sun was darkened, the rocks were rent, and the 
dead arose and appeared to many. Did the hardened sinners of those days 
become converted? Alas! modern sinners have still greater proofs than 
they of the divinity of our holy religion; they know that pardon without 
repentance is a moral impossibility, and yet they remain obdurate, and 
pursue a course which is sure to end in eternal reprobation. 

Despair will seize upon the obdurate sinner as death draws nigh. His 
past life, with its terrible catalogue of crimes, will loom up before his 
horrified vision mountain-high; and the inexpressible anguish of that hour 
will contain a certain foretaste of the tortures of hell. Who is there, that 
would like to die like Cain or Judas ? The renowned abbot Alexander, 
Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg, relates in his diary the following, which 
occured to him in 181 9. "A dissolute young man fell dangerously ill, the 
result of his excesses. Hearing of this, I at once called on him, and ex- 
pressed my sympathy for his sickness. As I was leaving he begged me to 
call again. I promised gladly, and after a day or so, visited him once 
more. I found him suffering greatly, and terribly depressed. Pointing to 
two pistols which hung near his bed, he said: 'If this lasts much longer, 
I will put an end to the whole thing! ' I was, of course, awfully shocked 
at this horrible speech, and I said: 'No.' thai you will never do; you are 



290 Lenten Sermons. 

too noble for that. Why not have recourse to religion, which can comfort 
and console us in every circumstance of life ? ' « Friend,' replied he, ' it is 
too late for me. When a boy, I was happy; I believed then, with childlike 
faith, but now, I have no faith ! ' ' But,' said I, ' our Saviour has told us: 
' I am come to seek those who are lost.' He will, he can save you! ' 'Let 
us drop this subject,' said the sick man, ' it is now too late. If there is a 
hereafter, it will be bad for me; if there is none, why trouble me with idle 
thoughts ? ' I tried again to do something for him when I next saw him, 
but his curses shocked me. I continued to pray for him, but a hemorrhage 
coming on suddenly, he died, breathing forth curses and cries of despair. 
Such was the sinner's death-bed. " 



V. 

REPENTANCE. 



" But if the wicked do penance for all his sins, living, he shall live, and 
shall not die." — Ezech. 18: 21. 

The Lord God appeared to Cain after he had committed the heinous 
crime of fratricide, and said: "Cain, what hast thou done ? " 

If there is no hand amongst us red with the blood of his brother, we 
must nevertheless admit, upon glancing back at our past lives, or even 
since the performance of our last Easter duty, that we have much to ac- 
count for in our repeated venial sins, nay, perhaps, in some grave trans- 
gressions of the law of God. Some of us, alas! may have acquired a sad 
habit of sin, may have piled up iniquities until, at length, we find ourselves 
growing obdurate, turning a deaf ear to all calls to repentance, and begin- 
ning to tread the fearfully dangerous and downward path to final impeni- 
itence. But, during these days of grace, our Lord cries out to us by the 
mouth of his minister: "Christian, 'what hast thou done?' Unlike Cain, 
you have not offended me by one, but by numberless sins; you have thrust 
aside many graces that were calculated to lead you to repentance, and the 
amendment of your life; and now, you are nearing the brink cf ruin. One 
step more — and your measure of sin will be filled up; one more grievous 
sin — and then, no more grace. You will be precipitated into hell's 
fathomless abyss ! " O hearken, sinner, to the voice of God's mercy and 
love, exhorting you to amend your life! Heed this loving voice whilst 



Lenten Sermons. 291 

there is time. For many, this may be the last call of God's love. It is not 
his justice which speaks to you, for that would perhaps condemn you; it is 
mercy, which is still willing to spare! 

Behold, our good God now during this solemn season of penance, prayer 
and fasting calls and invites us to return from our evil ways. He addresses 
us now and brings forcibly before our eyes the enormity of sin, inasmuch 
as he presents to our gaze the suffering and dying God-man. Our loving 
Redeemer extends his arms upon the cross to embrace all, who return to 
him, to the end that his precious Blood may not be lost on any immortal 
soul. 

Now, as we are all sinners, in a greater or less degree, we should all 
endeavor to obtain pardon by means of penance, the sole remedy for sin. 
■"Unless you do penance, you shall all likewise perish." But, "if the 
wicked do penance for all his sins, living, he shall live, and shall not die." 
Let us then propose to ourselves this question: How must we do pen- 
ance ? I reply: If we would really repent and change our lives, we must 

I. Know our sinful condition, and 
// Confess our sins and ever after keep them in remembrance* 

I. — As the physician can have no reasonable hope of curing a bodily 
ailment, of which he knows nothing, neither can we hope without self- 
knowledge to effect an entire relief from sin, the disease of the soul. We 
cannot possibly do penance, unless we understand precisely our state, and 
the sins of which we have been guilty. A medical doctor will not prescribe 
a remedy for me, if I simply say to him: "Doctor, I am sick!" Much 
less can I expect a cure for my soul's indisposition by merely crying out: 
"I am a sinner!" The first step towards repentance then is an exact 
knowledge of one's sins. To attain this, we must examine our consciences. 
We must open up every fold of the heart, reflecting upon our state, and 
comparing what it now is, with what it should be. 

We must consider what God demands of us each in our own place and 
condition in life, we must carefully search into all our thoughts, words, 
and actions since our last valid confession, examining diligently how we 
have kept the commandments of God and of his Church. See, whether we 
have carried into execution our good resolutions, or whether we have re- 
lapsed into our former bad habits; whether we have repaired our past short- 
comings, and made restitution in cases where we have damaged others in 
reputation or property; ask ourselves whether we have continued to live at 
enmity with our neighbor, without making efforts towards reconciliation; 



292 Lenten Sermons. 

whether we have avoided the occasions of sin; above all, earnestly seek to 
discover if our past confessions have been made with due sincerity and con- 
trition. 

Next, let us reflect upon sin; on what it is, and on what are its effects, 
its malice, and its punishment — practically applying all these points to our 
own miserable state. We must think seriously of the ingratitude and dis- 
obedience shown to our good God by sin, of the loss of grace, of the for- 
feiture of our title as his adopted children, of our making void, as far as in 
us lies, the merits of the bitter Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ; 
and lastly, let us descend in spirit into hell, to which our vices are surely 
dragging us. 

True repentance can never consist in a few hurried prayers, the care- 
less recitation of the formula of an act of contrition, nor in the rapid ac- 
cusation of one's sins to the minister of God. It involves a genuine 
change of heart, after a due and careful preparation. When you sin your 
heart and will turn away from God, you attach yourself to creatures, you 
prefer your evil inclinations to your sovereign Good ; you bow down be- 
fore those false gods, your wretched passions. 

If you desire to do penance, then, you must detach your heart from 
creatures and return to God. You must detest that which you formerly 
loved ; in a word, you must become a new man ! Is it hard for us to 
abandon anything that has caused us temporal loss ? Is it difficult to hate 
sin ? Look you — suppose a certain man has robbed you of your good 
name, or by his lies and tricks has ruined your business, so that his malice 
has plunged you and yours into actual want. Tell me, how do you feel 
towards this open enemy? " Alas," you tell me, "I am filled with bitter- 
ness against him. Whenever I think of that man, whenever I see 
him, every indignity he has offered me looms up before me ! Humanly 
speaking, it is hardly possible for me to forgive and forget the injury he has 
done me!" Well, now, take an example from this ; how you should hate 
sin, your bitterest foe. It has robbed you not of earthly, but of eternal 
possessions ; it has deprived you of the grace of God and of all the merits 
of your past good actions ; it has transformed you, a child of God, into a 
slave of Satan. In view of all these points, is it hard to hate, and to here- 
after avoid, sin, your sole enemy ? Certainly not. We must continue the 
good work we have begun, by confessing our sins, and ever after pre- 
serving a salutary remembrance of them. 

II. — It cannot be denied that confession, or the avowal of sin to a priest, 
is repugnant to man's natural self-love ; it is highly disagreeable to be 



Lenten Sermon: 



2 93 



obliged to speak evil of one's self. But this self-accusation is absolutely 
necessary for the obtaining of the forgiveness of our sins. 

Our Saviour has attached to the confession of sin its remission. This is 
clearly and explicitly laid down in the words he used at the institution of the 
Sacrament of Penance : ' ' Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven, 
and whose sins you shall retain they are retained. " Thus we see that 
whether our sins are to be forgiven or retained, they must first be con- 
fessed. For as an earthly judge could give no decision as to the guilt or 
innocence of a culprit without an exact knowledge of the facts of his case, 
nor a prudent physician prescribe for an invalid without knowing his 
symptoms and precise sufferings, so neither can the priest, the represen- 
tative of God, judge of the sinner's guilt and of his dispositions as to abso- 
lution, unless the penitent fully discloses to him his sins, their number, 
and their aggravating circumstances. You will know, my brethren, that 
in the affairs of daily life, we cannot pardon our debtors without knowing 
who and what they are, as well as the exact amount of their indebtedness, 
so in the tribunal of penance, the representative of God can only judge of 
the matters laid before him, and bind or loose, according to the facts de- 
tailed to him by the penitent. It stands to reason that it would be silly to 
absolve or forgive what one does not know. It is equally so to expect 
absolution, unless all one's sins are laid open to the priest. Hence our 
Saviour attaches to the forgiveness of our sins the essential condition that 
those sins must be confessed. 

Time and space will not admit of our producing from holy Scriptures, and 
from the Fathers and doctors of the Church, the many incontestable proofs 
that auricular confession of sin was instituted by Christ, that is has always 
existed in his Church, and that it never was introduced in the course of 
time by some cunning Pope or pious Emperor, as our enemies falsely allege. 
If it were not Christ's institution, the heavy burden it lays upon his repre- 
sentatives, the physical and mental strain it entails, the responsibility be- 
fore God on the one hand and the humiliation, the discomfort, and the 
oppressive yoke (for so it seems in the eyes of sensitive and sensual hu- 
manity) it imposes on the other — all these would have combined together, 
and all Christendom would have risen up to protest against such a distress- 
ing human ordinance. On the other hand we well know that there is some- 
thing within the human breast which urges a man to communicate to a 
kind and sympathising friend whatever may grievously and secretly oppress 
him. We well know that humble and penitent confession takes away half 
the sting from gnawing remorse. The peace and joy which open confes- 
sion infuses, and the numberless conversions which follow it, all justify 
the practice of confession which our Redeemer himself commanded. 



294 Lenten Sermons. 

Consequently, our efforts to do penance are facilitated by the confession 
of sin at the command of him by whose sole power it is that our sins are 
pardoned. If we would receive forgiveness, we must be careful to make 
known all our sins to the representative of God. Oh ! how guilty are 
those who, after a year's absence from thesacred'tribunal, and after a hasty 
examination, accuse themselves only of a few petty defects, and become 
quite indignant, perhaps enraged, if the priest, in his desire to lawfully dis- 
charge his duty, and to have the confession of the penitent as complete as 
possible, questions them as to the performances of the duties of their state 
of life, etc. These persons surely do not reflect that, if through their 
own fault, any mortal sin is not confessed, their entire confession is 
rendered invalid, and that they receive the Sacrament of Penance un- 
worthily ! It is not quite likely that, after a year's absence from the holy 
tribunal, during which time they have been immersed in worldly cares 
and occupations, they have not given to the Sacrament that diligent 
self-examition, that conscientious preparation which so sacred a duty 
demands ? 

If we would do true penance, we mst confess our sins just as they are, 
without concealing anything of moment ; we must accuse without excus- 
ing ourselves, as we know ourselves guilty before God. When sincerity is 
lacking, there is no genuine repentance. Alas ! my brethren, this want 
of candor, this hiding and palliating sin is a dangerous rock, whereon 
many, otherwise good confessions, are wrecked ! To this species of dissi- 
mulation may be attributed the fact that so many leave the confessional, 
that source of such untold peace to the sincere, without consolation or 
ease of mind. I am aware that it is self-love and the fear of being despised 
which urges many penitents to this course. Oh ? if you have hitherto not 
been ashamed to commit sin, do not now hesitate to acknowledge it ! If 
a wound is not wholly laid open for surgical treatment (no matter at what 
cost of pain to the patient) it supurates, and in time produces death ; and 
if the disclosure of sin is somewhat bitter and painful, its results will be so 
much the more salutary and healing. Why this insincerity ? What folly 
and madness ! Consider that by your failure to disclose your sins, your 
confession and your communion are rendered unworthy ; that your con- 
science will soon awaken and remorsefully reproach you ; that the priest 
well knows the weakness of the human heart and compassionates it ; that 
he never thinks upon nor divulges what is told him in confession ; that 
what you now conceal will, on the day of judgment, be made manifest to 
the whole world ; that from your fatal reserve you are opening your heart to 
the devil and taking your first steps with him on the awful road of final 
impenitence. Are not all these reasons well calculated to move us to the 
greatest possible candor with the minister of Christ, to an unreservedly 
honest confession of even our most henious crimes ? 



Lenten Sermons. 



295 



Whilst confessing our sins, our sorrow for having thus offended our 
living God should be uppermost in our souls. As you would not feel like 
pardoning your child for some offence against you, if he should merely 
refer to it without humbly acknowledging his guilt, and protesting that he 
will observe your commands better in future, so it is impossible for God to 
forgive us unless we confess with penitent dispositions. 

Repentance begins with a knowledge of our sin ; as it is continued by 
penance and confession, it should therefore be rendered complete by a 
constant remembrance or our past offences. 

Say that we repent, my brethren, after a good confession, and, that after 
performing the slight satisfactory prayers or works enjoined by the con- 
fessor, (and which cannot be compared with those of the early Christian 
penitents), an entire amendment of life follows. Shall we be satisfied with 
this ? Ah! no, there still remain those temporal punishments due to our past 
sins. To this end, we should undertake voluntary penitential works. 
Again, our evil inclinations and unruly passions are merely suppressed, 
not exterminated. They must be battled with, or relapse will be unavoid- 
able. Constant prayer, and frequent recourse to the holy Sacraments, ex- 
treme vigilance, and reflection upon our own weakness, and upon the 
magnitude of sin, will all contribute towards our permanent amend- 
ment of life. Our own experience tells us how easily we fall back, 
despite our apparent good resolutions. There is too much surface work 
in the lives of ordinary Christians. We should root out besetting sins from 
our hearts, and put our good purposes into constant practice. The great 
Augustine published all his sins in his work entitled his "Confessions," in 
order that he might always keep them before his eyes. Thus, it was, that 
he remained steadfast to the end. David and Mary Magdalene also knew 
that it was only by penance and constant remembrance of their sins, that 
they could render their conversion permanent. So should we act ; never 
forgetting our former sins, but always keeping up a continual warfare 
against our passions, we should work out our salvation in fear and tremb- 
ling. The way of innocence I fear is lost to us. Let us then enter upon 
the difficult way of penance, and God's mercy will come to our aid, and 
enable us to persevere to the end. Amen. 



296 Lenten Sermons. 

VI. 
GOD'S MERCY TO THE SINNER. 



"And the lord of that servant being moved with compassion, forgave him 
the debt." — Matt. 18: 27. 

Now, that we are nearing the close of these Lenten conferences, my 
brethren, in view of how displeasing and how deserving of punishment all 
sin is in the eyes of God, should we not strike our breasts and bewail our 
personal sins with the profoundest sentiments of sorrow and contrition ? 
Let us briefly recall the frightful condition of those who have committed 
but one mortal sin, the horrible state of the habitual sinner, and the still 
worse outlook for the impenitent, who are hardened in their crimes. To 
which of these three classes do we, as sinners, belong ? Should we not 
carefully examine how manifold and grievous have been our offences, how 
frequent our relapses in the past ? Alas ! perhaps even now, we are living 
in a state of habitual tepidity, heedless of the daily mercies and bounties 
of our Lord, aye, even ungratefully contemning his graces ! 

Lifting our eyes to heaven, let us, my dear brethren, thank God this day 
for granting us this new opportunity of salvation. In spite of our re- 
peated offences against him, he has patiently waited for our conversion, 
whilst, during the past year, he has suddenly called away many others to 
meet the punishment they deserved. 

Shall we not be grateful for this unmerited favor of a prolonged life, for 
this respite which the divine mercy now offers us, and endeavor to pro- 
pitiate our offended Saviour ? 

Mercy, mercy, — O touching, consoling word ! Recognize, now, O 
sinner, the eternal anguish and misery into which sin at any time may 
thrust you, and, to-day, if you hear God's voice, harden not your heart! 
That tender voice calls you, — perhaps for the last time. Return, then, 
humbly and penitently to your heavenly Father, whom you have aban- 
doned, and learn that God's mercy is 

I. Very great ; and therefore that it pardons 

II. Every sin, even the most heinous. 



Lenten Seemons. 297 

I. I will pass over all the proofs of God's mercy that are to be found in 
Ins work of creation, and passing at once to that of the Redemption, I ask 
you : Why did the Redeemer of mankind come into this world ? To show 
mercy to sinners. He saw, from his throne of glory, that by the sin of 
Adam and Eve, man had been separated from God, and that all posterity 
were burdened with that primal guilt. He saw also that mankind would 
be lost to heaven, for which it was created ; and that, as children of Satan, 
all men would go to eternal ruin. In his tender mercy he resolved to leave 
his throne and save the guilty children of Adam. By expiating the guilt of 
our sins, he would make condign satisfaction to the divine Justice. What 
other object could the Son of God have had in view in his incarnation? 
Did he become man to increase his own honor and glory ? Certainly not, 
for God is infinite perfection, and nothing can increase the glory of his 
intrinsic perfection. Whether his creatures be in heaven or in hell, the in- 
trinsic happiness of the Deity remains the same ; it can neither be in- 
creased nor diminished since God is unchangeable. Consequently, the 
Second Person of the adorable Trinity undertook the redemption of poor 
fallen humanity out of pure love and tender pity. If in our everyday life 
that Christian charity, which entails self-sacrifice, is so much the more meri- 
torious, O, what must have been the immensity of Christ's love and mercy 
towards men, when he made such indescribable sacrifices for their sake ! 
" He emptied himself' of the glory which he had in heaven from all eter- 
nity ; he took upon himself the form of a servant. Coming down to this 
earth, this vale of tears, and becoming the poorest of the poor, he con- 
sorted with sinners, his bitter enemies, who by their crimes offended him 
anew, sojourned thirty-three years here, teaching and consoling mankind, 
reaping, in return, nothing but ingratitude, scorn, and calumny ; and 
dying, at length, the cruel death of a malefactor ! Alas ! was not his 
every breath, thought, word and action offered up from sheer pity and 
compassion for unworthy sinners ? 

Jesus Christ bhows us clearly the characteristics of divine mercy in his 
touching parable of the good Samaritan. The wounded traveler by the 
roadside is the true type of the Christian, wounded by sin, Our Saviour 
does not ignore the necessities of this poor sufferer as did the others who 
journeyed along the road. Neither does he, like the priest and the Levite 
of the parable, silently pass him by on the other side. True, he, our 
loving Redeemer, has often been offended, often, in his turn, been un- 
happily wounded by the sinner, and left lying neglected by the roadside. 
Yet, behold ! he stoops from his high dignity to pour oil and wine into 
the sinner's wounds. Promising him pardon for his offences, he places 
him upon his own beast, yes, upon his own shoulders, to bring him back 
to the fold. The Good Samaritan of the Gospel gave two-pence for the 
maintenance and care of his wounded charge, but Christ, our Lord, pans 



298 Lenten Sermons. 

out for the wounded sinner the infinite treasure of his graces in the holy 
Sacraments that the sick soul may be healed of its mortal malady, and re- 
lapse no more into sin. 

O, my brethren, can there be a greater mercy than that which Jesus por- 
trays in this parable ? Have we not, each one of us, experienced his 
tender compassion in our individual needs? In our journey through life, 
how often have we not fallen into the snare of our enemy the devil, how 
often been grievously wounded by sin, stripped of our graces and merits, 
and left by the roadside, forsaken by all the world ! Then our Lord took 
pity upon us ; he sent us a ray of grace, moving us to repentance ; and in 
the tribunal of penance he has healed our wounds, lifted up our prostrate 
souls, and strengthened and refreshed them anew by the reception of the 
Blessed Sacrament. 

We have a still more beautiful example of the divine mercy in the par- 
able of the Prodigal Son. O, he was not an ordinary sinner ! He was 
obstinate as well as rebellious, and persevered in his sins. He squandered 
his substance, that is, the grace of God. He plunged himself into the 
most extreme poverty, into the depths of spiritual misery. His garments, 
that is, his robe of innocence, were torn by his vicious life. Hunger and 
want, the displeasure of God oppressed him sorely, and he was obliged to 
the most menial work, that is he basely served the devil. Wretched and 
forsaken by the world, he at length entered into himself and determined 
upon a different course of conduct. He would arise and go home to his 
father — ah ! yes, to his loving and forgiving father ! Obdurate as he had 
hitherto proven himself to parental admonition, deep as were the wounds 
he had inflicted upon his father's heart, O, all these were forgotten, all in- 
juries were overlooked, when the aged parent saw his wilful son coming to 
him from afar. He hastened to embrace him, and when the wretched 
youth prostrated himself at his feet, humbly confessing his guilt, the com- 
passionate parent raised him up, pressed him to his bosom and gave him 
the kiss of peace. There are no reproaches here for the guilty prodigal, no- 
shrinking disgust for his loathsome condition ! The father calls him his 
child : he gives him the most beautiful robe ; he prepares a feast for him ; 
he invites all his friends with him, for "I have found my son that was 
lost." 

Behold, my friends, the unparalleled love of an earthly parent for his 
vicious but repentant son ! And yet this is but a feeble image of the im- 
measurable love and mercy of God in behalf of poor sinners. Innumer- 
able are the souls which the divine compassion has led by sufferings and 
tribulations to a knowledge of their wickedness, to penance and to amend- 
ment of life. Oh ! how encouraging this reflection should be to the pen- 



Lenten Sermons. 299 

itent sinner ! Should there be any one here amongst you, my brethren, 
who, looking back with horror upon his past sinful life, and seeing how 
often he has strayed far away from his God, how many heinous sins now 
lie upon his conscience, and who asks himself, almost despairingly, ''Can 
God forgive me ?" I say to him : Have you more wounds upon your soul 
than the poor young man by the roadside had upon his body ? Have you 
groveled in the mire of your sins more persistently than did the Prodigal 
of the Gospel ? Have you served the devil for a longer time than Augustine 
did ? Are you more deeply sunk in the slough of your vices than was 
Mary Magdalene ? O, look up to the infinite mercy of your heavenly 
Father ! To all these sinners that mercy granted pardon, and our Saviour 
calls out to you : I died for you upon the cross ; I will not the death of 
the sinner. Take courage, the mercy of God is exceedingly great ; it can 
forgive the greatest, the most heinous sin. 

II. — It sometimes happens that a man has been for years an habitual 
sinnner, deafening his ears to the calls to repentance which were vouch- 
safed him. Behold, he is seized at last with a mortal illness, and as he ap- 
proaches the end of his life, he suddenly recognizes his miserable condition, 
Fain would he turn to God, but enchained by his abominable passions, 
he despairs of salvation, and cries out with Cain : ' ' My sin is greater than 
that I should be pardoned \" This is the state of despair which ends in 
final impenitence. True it is that this man has lost and abused very 
many graces. He has lived as God's enemy, burdened his conscience with 
sin of every sort, and given scandal to all about him. Naturally, he feels 
convinced that he wilPdie in his sins ; but I say to him : You, too, may be 
pardoned ! God's mercy is infinite, it pardons every sin, even the most 
grievous. Why despair because having lived many years in the midst of 
impurity ? Reflect that even Mary Magdalene heard these words from 
Christ: " Thy sins are forgiven thee!" Perhaps you have retained ill- 
gotten goods, or have become rich by fraud and theft? Behold an ex- 
ample of an unrighteous man's repentance in trie thief on the cross ; and 
hear Jesus crying out to him : '* This day thou shalt be with me in Para- 
dise !" Listen to the great Augustine, who reminds you that he committed 
more and worse sins than you, and yet, through God's mercy, he became 
a great saint. ' ' I will not the death of a sinner. " 

Our Saviour tells us of a servant that owed his lord ten thousand talents. 
This was an immense sum. The debtor prostrated himself before his 
master and begged and pleaded thus : " Have patience with me and I will 
pay thee all." And his lord had compassion on him and forgave him the 
debt. So, too, will the Lord of the universe do in your regard, O re- 
pentant sinner ! St. Eusebius compares the ten thousand talents of the 
servant's indebtedness to our numerous offences against God. If the 



300 Lenten Sermons. 

master acted thus towards his servant, may you not look for a like grace 
and favor from your merciful Lord! St. Jerome remarks : "No sinner 
need despair of salvation whilst his "soul is in his body ; he need never 
doubt the fathomless abyss of divine mercy, but he should do all in his 
power to deliver his soul from undue fear of being cast off. God's mercy 
surpasses human understanding ; it may almost be said to save the sinner 
against his will, for the grace of conversion is often irresistible. " I was 
obstinate and loved thee not," says the great Augustine; "I loved sin, I 
left thee for thy enemy. But thou hast sought me out, and delivered me 
from the hands of my bitter foe, almost against my will." Oh ! the in- 
comprehensible mercy of God, which pardons all, even the most heinous 
transgressions! How have we merited this mercy? "Not unto us, O 
Lord I" To thee, my bleeding Saviour, to thee, we owe all these incompar- 
able blessings ! I have sinned and thou hast borne the chastisement 
thereof. And why ? Through mercy for us sinners. 

Oh ! my dear brethren, let us reflect that it is only by penance we can 
obtain pardon. Many of Jyou have already harkened to the call of grace 
and have become reconciled with your offended and outraged Creator. 
Oh ! that having made this heroic effort, you may persevere, and may 
never again relapse into sin ! But some are still holding back. Some still 
hesitate ; they have not yet put their hand to the plough ; they still con- 
tinue in sin. O ! would that these, too, would but shake off the heavy 
yoke of Satan and rise to a new life. I promise them they will be much 
happier after good and contrite confession. Let me not, I beg of you, 
call to you in vain. This may be, for many of us, our last Lent; if called 
suddenly away, would yours, my brethren, be an unprovided death? 

O divine Saviour ! thou didst die on the cross for sin ! To thy sacred 
agonizing Heart I recommend all tepid souls ; I conjure thee touch their 
consciences with the sharp goad of thy grace ! Let them see and realize 
their unhappy state, that they may expiate their sins in a truly penitential 
manner whilst thy mercy is being offered them, and may not permit the 
precious blood to be spilt for them in vain. Amen. 



Lenten Sermons. 301 

VII. 
THE THREE-FOLD SACRIFICE OF CHRIST. 



" Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree." — 1. Pet. 2 : 24. 

This is Good Friday — a good day, and yet, truly a day of woe and lamen- 
tation, for on it the Just One died the death of the greatest malefactor. 

Jesus hangs upon the cross. 

With the eye of faith we behold the thousands of insults, blasphemies, 
blows and buffets to which he has been subjected. Ropes and bands, 
thorns and scourges, nails and cross are the bloody instruments of our 
dying Saviour's martyrdom. 

O, holy life ! O, cruel death ! 

The sun is darkened, the earth trembles at the death of its Creator, the 
veil of the temple is rent asunder, the dead arise from their graves — every- 
thing expresses horror. To-day, my brethren, in memory of all this, our 
altars are stripped of all ornaments, the organ is silent, mournful dirges 
fall upon our ears; everything expresses sorrow for the death of the Son of 
God. Sin, which began in Paradise through the fruit of a tree, is atoned 
for to-day by the precious fruit of the tree of the cross. The sacrifice of 
Christ, in order to be fully satisfactory to the divine Justice must be three- 
fold. 

j st. Sin perverted man's will ; for this our Saviour atoned by his obe- 
dience and resignation in the Garden of Olives. 

2d. Sin ruined man's body through his passions, and this injury was re- 
paired by the fearful bodily sufferings which our Saviour endured in his 
own person in Jernsalem. 

3rd. Sin brought everlasting death to man, and in order to avert this 
doom, our Saviour voluntarily suffered death on Calvary. 

Let us therefore contemplate : 



302 



Lenten Sermons. 



I. Our Saviour s sacrifice of his will in the Garden of Olives. 

II. The sacrifice of his body in Jerusalem ; and 

III. The sacrifice of his death on Calvary. 

I. In the Garden of Olives our Saviour offered up the sacrifice of his 
will by perfect submission to the divine will, thereby making satisfaction 
for the disobedience of our will. After the Last Supper with his disciples, 
our divine Redeemer goes with them in sorrowful silence, to the Garden of 
Olives. As a brave warrior hastens to the field of battle to await the ap- 
pearance of the enemy, so our Saviour is impelled by his strong desire of 
perfectly fulfilling his heavenly Father's will, and of completing the work 
of our redemption, to hasten to the place in which his omniscience fore- 
saw that the base designs of the Synagogue and the treachery of his faith- 
less disciple would be carried out. He crossed the brook Cedron, and at 
the sight of its waters he recalls the words of king David, who had pro- 
phesied that the blood of the Messiah should be poured forth, like the 
waters of the brook, for the salvation of the world. He arrives at the 
'Garden of Olives, whose trees remind him of the prophecy of Jeremias, 
foretelling that the body of the world's Redeemer should be tortured, 
beaten^ and, [as it were pressed down in the vat of inexpressible suffer- 
ings, in order to give to the world the oil of peace. He reaches the Gar- 
den of Olives, and here begins the sacrifice of his will for the redemption 
of mankind, who had sinned in Adam by refusing obedience to the divine 
commands in paradise. 

Our Saviour kneels down ; in the darkness of night, which is barely dis- 
sipated by the pale moon-beams, we behold him sorrowful, trembling, al- 
most fainting, bowed to the earth in prayer. Whence comes this change 
in the Son of God, in the Lion of Judah, to whom nothing once seemed 
difficult or fear-inspiring ? Dearly beloved, our Saviour is already engaged 
in the work of sacrifice ; he is now offering up his will to that of his 
heavenly Father. Sometimes we, too, my brethren, are called upon to 
submit our will to that of another, but this does not trouble us if what 
our neighbor requires of us is reasonable and just. But the sacrifice of 
Jesus, by the wise counsels of God, must be filled with bitterness and pain 
in order to atone for sin. Consequently, although our Saviour submitted 
his will to that of his Father, yet there arose in his interior a violent, pain- 
ful conflict. His human will shrank from the contemplation of his ap- 
proaching cruel death, and nature trembled at the sight with dread and 
horror. Thus the Sacred Heart of Jesus, deprived of the power and aid 
of his divinity, became the prey of a thousand terrible thoughts and fears. 
Before him passed in prospective the long array of his approaching 
sufferings, the false charges, the manifold blasphemies and mockeries, the 



Lenten Sermons. 303 

blows, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the nails, the cross. All these 
passed in review before his mind, oppressing his sensitive heart with the 
terrible vision of the future, and forcing him in advance to drain the 
chalice of suffering to its very dregs. O, who can describe this unspeak- 
able pain, anguish, and torture of the God-Head ? A bloody sweat be- 
dews his body, yet he bows his blessed head, and meekly muwnurs : 
" Father, not my will, but thine be done." — Luke 22 : 42. 



Victim of obedience ! What a resignation was thine to the decrees of 
the Eternal Father ? Faintly, yet truly, was this submission of the will 
foreshadowed in the conduct of the patriarch Abraham. That holy man 
was commanded by God to sacrifice his only son • as a proof of his 
perfect obedience. Isaac, the only son, must die a victim by the hand of 
his own father. What a conflict must have arisen in the paternal heart of 
the holy patriarch against this severe command of God ! What over- 
whelming sorrow must he not have experienced as with his dearly-beloved 
son, he made the sad journey to the place of sacrifice, Mount Moriah! 
Of this you, dear parents, who have stood by the death-bed of your 
beloved children, may form some idea. You may imagine the unspeak- 
able pain experienced by him, who was bidden by the Almighty not only 
to stand by the death-pile of his dear son, but to strike withhis own hand 
the destroying blow. 

Yet Abraham's trial was merely a test of his obedience. The consum- 
mation of the sacrifice was not required of him. In the Garden of 
Olives, however, our Saviour knew that his great sacrifice must be com- 
pleted. O, be astonished at this stupendous miracle of self-immolation! 
Behold here the highest obedience, the grandest climax of love in the death 
agony of our suffering Saviour ! 

But the bitterest anguish of our Redeemer came from the knowledge 
that although he was about to die in atonement for sin, yet, in spite of his 
cruel death, millions of souls would yet be eternally lost through sin. He 
foresaw the betrayal of Judas and his eternal damnation, the denial of 
Peter and his danger, the flight of his disciples, and their disgrace, the 
blindness and malice of the Jewish nation, and their downfall ; he fore- 
saw how so many would despise his cross, and thereby, through their own 
fault, go to ruin. He saw in spirit the thousands of apostates who would 
fall away from the faith which he was instituting by his death ; he saw the 
many heretics, who, in the mazes of error, would wander from the right 
path ; h^ saw the multitude of vices and sins with which we, my brethren, 
each one of us, ungratefully repay his immense love. O, it was our sins, 



304 Lenten Sermons. 

the sins of those who call themselves Christians, that pressed him to the 
earth in the Garden of Olives ! Those were the bitter dregs of the chalice 
which he must drain ; that the bloody spear which pierced his heart. The 
climax of his action was in the thought that for so many ungrateful and 
blinded souls he would not only suffer and die in vain, but that 
his very sufferings and death would be the real cause of their dam- 
nation. There, in the dim shadows of Gethsemane, he kneels, over- 
come with this woful thought, deprived of all consolation and assis- 
tance, his heart convulsed with an agony which no human tongue 
can describe. Even heaven itself, his own royal kingdom, seems 
closed against him. The Eternal Father no longer recognizes his 
sole-begotten and beloved son. The Divine Victim trembles in every 
limb ; the blood, which can find no room in his oppressed heart, forces 
its way to the surface, and falls in great drops, like crimson tears, upon 
the sinful earth. Alas ! Even adamant would be softened to pity and com- 
passion at the view of such exquisite torture ! Oh ! my Saviour, that our 
tears could but assuage thy sufferings, our blood flow instead of thine, 
gladly would we offer both tears and blood to thee ! But no ! Jesus 
Christ must needs expiate our sins, his precious Body must be sacri- 
ficed. 



II. After our Redeemer had thus accomplished the sacrificejof his will, 
he continued the work of Redemption by undergoing the most ignominious 
treatment. Behold, how our Lord is bound by his enemies, and thus led 
to Jerusalem amidst blows and bruises, mockery and scorn ! A few days 
ago ' ' Hosannas " greeted him on every side ; now the very same people 
denounce him as a seducer, a malefactor, and a traitor to Caesar. O, the 
inconstancy of the human soul ! O, how fleeting and changeable is the 
fever of men ! 

Let us, in spirit, enter into the house of the high priest, and gaze upon 
innocence as contrasted with villainy. Black calumny, false witnesses, 
audacity, blows and stripes were all employed until, without examination 
or defence, Jesus Christ is condemned. 

Jesus is worthy of death. 

He, most Holy, the All-righteous ; he, whose sanctity, charity and 
miraculous powers, these now-blinded people had so often admired ; he, 
who on the summit of Thabor, was pronounced by a voice from heaven to 
be the beloved Son of God, — he, worthy of death. Behold, in the dis- 



Lenten Sermons. 305 

ciples having abandoned him at this supreme moment, a sad proof of the 
effects of human respect. 



During that long night of his Passion, when he remained under the 
malign power of his brutal executioners, his sufferings were indescribable. 
"Prophesy unto us," said one guilty wretch, who had blindfolded the 
meek Lamb of God, "prophesy unto us, who it was that struck 
thee \" 

The malice of the soldiery was diabolical; yet he bore all things with 
divine patience and silence. Finally, the morning dawned, that terrible 
Good Friday morning, which was to lead him to other and even more hor- 
rible torments. 

Pilate, tc whom he was brought, was convinced of his innocence, and 
yet this ruler, who sinned through fear of the people, commanded Innocence 
to be scourged. 

Woe to him who falls through human respect, as did the Roman gover- 
nor. 

The blood of Jesus gushes forth in torrents, it colors the hard stones 
beneath the pillar, but it fails to touch the hearts of his murderers. They 
plait a crown of sharp thorns, and thrust it upon his divine head; his 
precious blood trickles down on temple and cheek. 

Ecce homo ! Look upon that adorable Face wounded and blood-stained 
for the love of us ! But hark! what shrieks are those we hear: "Crucify 
him ! Crucify him ! " 

III. The last sacrifice demanded by divine justice is about to be con- 
summated. "It is expedient that one man shall die for the people." Jesus 
must die that we may live; he must expiate our sins, and "the wages of 
sin is death." 

He takes up his cross and bears it, uncomplainingly, through the long 
streets of that deluded city. 

As thou hast dealt with thy Redeemer, O misguided Jerusalem, so wilt 
thou be one day dealt with by thy enemies. They shall beat thee to the 
earth, and put to death thy children! 



306 Lenten Sermons. 

Weakened by loss of blood, Jesus falls again and again on his road to 
Mount Calvary. One would suppose the stony hearts of his enemies would 
have been melted with pity, — but, no! he is compelled by cruel blows and 
horrid blasphemies, to rise and resume his sad journey. 

O, dearest Lord, we will run to thy assitance! What do I say? We, 
who are unwilling to bear anything disagreeable, a trifling mishap, some 
pain or imaginary insult, how shall we help thee, O Lord ? Our pity con- 
sists in empty words, but not in deeds. Learn patience, O Christians! 
from your prostrate Saviour! 

At length, he is stripped of his torn garments, thrown violently down by 
his executioners, and stretched upon the hard bed of the cross. The rude 
nails are cruelly driven into his tender hands and feet. He is raised on 
high; every nerve and sinew being strained and rent by the jolting and 
settling of the cross into the place prepared for it. Not a sign of impatience 
is visible in that adorable, gentle Face; neither sighs nor lamentations pro- 
ceed from the pallid lips of the divine Sufferer. Suspended on high, 
enduring indescribable agonies of body and mind, he prays for his bitter 
enemies. The anguish of his blessed Mother at the foot of the cross adds 
the last drop to the torrent of torments that overwhelmed him. 



At the end of three hours the chalice of affliction having been drained 
to the dregs, divine justice is appeased — the precious moment of re- 
demption has arrived — the Paschal Lamb announces to redeemed man- 
kind: "It is consummated! Into thy hands, O God ! I commend my 
spirit! " 

Beloved brethren, I have endeavored thus feebly to portray to you the 
three-fold sacrifice which our Redeemer offered for our sins. Let us 
endeavor to profit by it; let us imitate our loving Saviour, by presenting to 
our heavenly Father the sacrifice of our will, the sacrifice of our body and 
the final sacrifice of our life. Let us subject ourselves in every circumstance 
of life to the divine will, and avoid sin by a diligent mortification of our 
passions. Then, may we, indeed, hope, that our death will be but the 
beginning of eternal life. 

Can we behold our suffering Jesus, and still remain in sin ? O, ye 
proud ones, look at that blessed head crowned with thorns, and weep over 
your work. View those divine lips, saturated with vinegar and gall, O 
drunkard! and see what your excesses have done! Oh, miserly, avaricious 
Catholic, do you perceive those pierced hands and fail to recognize the re- 



Lenten Sermons. 307 

suit of your close-fistedness, your hard-heartedness towards the widow and 
orphan ! O, unchaste creature, be ashamed of your shameful vices, when 
you do number those gaping wounds of your Redeemer ! Alas ! Jesus, our 
love, is crucified, and his crucifixion is our work. 

May thy Passion and death, O innocent Lamb of God, interpose, here- 
after, between us and sin, and prevent us from ever again yielding to those 
foul temptations of our enemy, by which he would have us renew again thy 
dreadful agony on the Tree of the Cross. Amen. 



-♦"♦-♦■ 



The Seven LastWords oi Jesus on the Cross. 



EIGHTH COURSE. 



SEVEN SERMONS. 



Lenten Sermons. 311 



The Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ on the Cross. 



THE FIRST WORD. 



"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" Luke 23 :J4. 

Once more, the holy season of Lent is at hand ; once more, it knocks 
gently at the portals of the heart, exhorting us to repentance, and 
reminding us to enter upon a new life, leads us from station to station 
of our Lord's bitter Passion, that, at each one, we may more firmly 
resolve to cease wounding his Sacred Heart. We have followed him 
again from Jerusalem to Golgotha ; and now, we behold three crosses 
planted on that bleak and gloomy hill. There are soldiers there, and 
a noisy populace shouting, like fiends, around the central cross. The 
innocent Lamb of God is fastened thereon ; the strokes of the hammer 
still resound, their echoes reverberate over valley and hill, and, pene- 
trating to the uttermost parts of the shuddering universe, declare to it 
that, at last, the hour of man's redemption has arrived. 

I hear all this once more — I behold these shocking scenes repro- 
duced before my very eyes ! I see the rough nails quivering in the 
tender flesh, — yea, I see my Saviour dying for me and my sins, and can 
I remain insensible to the sight? Shall I not mourn over my trans- 
gressions which have nailed him to the wood of the cross, and shrink 
with horror from the commission of every additional grievous sin ? 

Some of you, my brethren, may have devoted the past week alto- 
gether to worldly pleasure and amusements ; many an evil word has 
been spoken, many an evil action has been committed, many a scandal 
has been given, and many a pure soul contaminated. Acknowledge it, 
at least, to your own hearts, acknowledge it here, in the presence of 
the Eucharistic God. Solemn and earnest are these days ; even the 
world of nature is grave and chill. The germs of the plants still slum- 
ber in the benumbed and frozen ground ; the genial rays of the vernal 
sun have not yet awakened them to new and beautiful life. The inte- 



312 Lenten Sermons. 

rior of this house of God, too, all sombre and solemn, should, with 
me, entreat you to employ well these forty days of Lent. Be obedient 
to the voice of the Church, which calls you to contemplate the Passion 
and death of your Redeemer. Do penance, and endeavor, each one 
of you, to become a new man ; so that when the Easter dawn gladdens 
the world, and the Church sings "Alleluia" — when it becomes Easter 
upon the hills and upon the plains, in the forest and in the fields, it 
may also become Easter in your hearts, as you celebrate your own spir- 
itual resurrection with the risen Christ. 

You may ask me : How can we profitably employ this holy season 
of Lent that it may become for us a time of penance, of change of 
heart, of amendment of life ? Allow me to place before your eyes a 
mirror in which you will clearly see what you are and what you ought to 
be. This mirror is not of precious metal or polished glass, — neither is 
there any thing novel about it, for it is to be found in the huts of the 
poor as well as in the houses of the rich. No doubt you have all 
looked into it in your turn ; for this mirror is your crucifix, it is our 
Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross. Not the dead representation, but the 
living original, — the Redeemer of the world agonizing on Mount 
Calvary, and giving utterance on the cross to his last most blessed 
words, the first of which : 

" Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," 
shall be the subject of our meditation to-day. 

I. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The cross 
which bears the divine Sufferer is erected on Golgotha ; Jesus hangs 
upon it, and, in clear streams, his blood flows from his open wounds. 
It is noon ; the hot sun of Palestine burns upon the uncovered head 
of the Crucified. A soldier, at Pilate's command, has fastened on the top 
of the cross a tablet, which proclaims to the world in Hebrew, Greek 
and Latin, the crime for which the Redeemer suffers : "This is Jesus 
of Nazareth, King of the Jews." (Matt. 27 :$y.) At the foot of the 
cross sit four Roman soldiers, who, resting from their sanguinary work, 
pass the time of our Lord's agony in playing dice. They have just 
cast lots upon his seamless robe, which, like the garment of every con- 
demned criminal of that time, belongs to the executioners. The in- 
habitants of Jerusalem flock around the cross, clamorous and scoffing: 
"Vah, thou who destroyest the temple of God and in three days buildest 
it up again, save thy own self : If thou be the Son of God, come down 
from the cross. He saved others ; himself he cannot save. If he be 
the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross, and we will be- 



Lenten Sermons. 313 

lieve him. He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he w.illhave 
him ; for he said : I am the Son of God," (Matt. 27 : 40-43.) O Cru- 
cified Saviour, why dost thou not raise thine all-powerful arm and crush 
thy enemies in the dust like worms, or command legions of Angels to 
destroythose who so sacrilegiously scoff at their Lord ? Our agonizing 
Redeemer seems to turn his dying eyes sadly and lovingly upon us, as 
though he would reply : "What I suffer I suffer gladly ; I suffer volun- 
tarily for the world, for my enemies, for you, my beloved children, and 
for all coming generations !" Then his eye, beautiful, even amid the 
dimness of coming death, seems to add : "Behold, my death is your 
life, — my wounds, your salvation." 

But see, he opens his pale, dying lips. What will he say? Perhaps: 
"Woe to you, my cruel enemies !" — ? Shall it be: "Accursed be you 
who have nailed me to this cross!" — ? Ah! no; blessings,- not curses, 
issue forth from those adorable lips, words of love, of pardon, of heav- 
enly mildness, which is not of this earth : "Father, forgive them ; for 
they know not what they do." 

Truly, these were divine words, worthy of the meek Heart of the 
expiring Son of God. Loving, blessing, pardoning, healing and con- 
soling, he traversed this sinful earth of ours ; and forgiving his enemies, 
he departed from it. Father, forgive' them, he prayed, as though to 
say : Father, behold me as thy sole victim, the holocaust of thy justice, 
pour out the vials of thy wrath upon me, — pain, torment, ignominy, 
abandonment, I gladly endure all, if thou wilt but forgive those guilty 
creatures, my enemies and yours. "They know not what they do." 

O sinner, as you hearken to these pleading words of your dying Re- 
deemer, do you not feel the hot blush of shame surging over cheek and 
brow ? Look into the mirror of Calvary, and behold your guilt in every 
open wound. All that implacable hatred could devise, infernal malice 
invent, or diabolical cruelty could employ, has been devised, invented, 
and employed by his enemies in order to increase his pains, and add 
a tenfold torture to his death, yet he prays : " Father, forgive them ; 
for they know not what they do ! " 

My dear Christians, you, too, have your enemies. Will you return 
hatred for hatred, — will you maliciously revenge yourselves on them, or 
on one who, perhaps, has done you some deep and grievous wrong ? 
Look up to the Cross. Your dying Saviour could crush his enemies, if 
he wished, but he does not. Will you not also say : " Father, I forgive 
this enemy of mine, as thou hast forgiven me." 



314 Lenten Sermons. 

When St. John Gualbert was but a youth, his brother was slain by 
one of his enemies. Burning with hatred and revenge Gualbert often 
lay in ambush for his enemy, in order to give him the death-stroke for 
his crime ; but the cunning murderer always evaded his grasp. Once, 
on a Good Friday, when Gualbert was riding alone it happened that 
in a narrow street, he met his brother's murderer, unarmed. Drawing 
his dagger, he fell upon the enemy, and was about to pierce him through, 
when the other, dropping on his knees, begged for grace and pardon for 
the sake of the Saviour who had died upon that day. Immediately, 
Gualbert lifted him up, embraced, and forgave him. God rewarded him 
for his generosity by giving him the grace of a religious vocation. From, 
being a gallant gentleman of the world, he became a monk, and event- 
ually, the Founder of a renowned Religious Order. Does not this 
example, O ! Christian, cry out : " Go and do thou in like manner ?" 

Father, forgive them j for they hwiv not what they do" — thus 
Jesus prayed upon the Cross for his enemies, thus he prays, to-day r 
for you, sinner ! " Father, forgive him, for if he knew that by his 
sins he tears the crown of glory from my head, and presses the crown 
of thorns into my wounded forehead, he would not do it ; if he knew 
how grievously he offends you by his sins ; how he robs himself of all 
interior peace, and renders himself miserable for time and eternity, he 
would not, he could not, do it ! " 

" Father, forgive them" thus the dying Sufferer prays also for you r 
christian parents, who bring up your sons, your daughters, not for 
God, but for the world. " Father, forgive such parents," he exclaims ; 
"for truly they know not what they do ; if they knew that I died, also,, 
for their children ; that I purchased their salvation with my very heart's 
blood, — they would not do it ; if they knew what precious treasures are 
the souls of the little ones intrusted to their charge, how terrible the 
responsibility of guilty parents, how dreadful their future punishment, 
— they would never do it ! " Christian fathers and mothers, our dying 
Redeemer cries out to you from the cross: " These children whom you 
call yours are mine, for I have redeemed and sanctified them ! " 

II. " Father, for give them; for they know not what they do," — thus we 
also must pray for those unfortunate men who have devoted themselves 
to the destruction of Faith and piety ; for, if they realized the wrong 
they did in subverting the entire order of state and society, they could 
never bring themselves to perpetrate so cruel a wrong. Towards the 
close of the last century, the revolutionists of France, under various 
pretenses, had inaugurated the reign of lawlessness and licentious- 



Lenten Sermons. 315 

ness ; and they sought for proofs that the unfortunate queen, Marie 
Antoinette, was hostile to liberty. One of the most rampant of these 
demagogues was the Jacobin, Herbert. Rushing into the apartments 
of the queen, he examined her books and papers, seeking proofs to 
establish the charges against her. He found nothing. A book lay upon 
one of the tables which he greedily opened, and there on a slip of paper* 
he found a pen-sketch, representing a heart pierced by an arrow, under 
which was the inscription: " Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me ! "' 
Seizing it, he rushed forth with it to the tribunal, and there proved the 
guilt of the queen to her enemies. 

Herbert, certainly, was true to his convictions. He who lives in the 
faith and fear of God cannot but shrink from the horrors of lawless 
revolution, but he who rebels against the divine law, will care still less 
for the violation of human laws. Render to God what is God's, — yea, 
but : Render, also, to Caesar what is Caesar's. Does not our Church 
teach that the temporal power is from God, and that the subject owes 
to it reverence and obedience ? Has a good Christian ever been a rev- 
olutionist or an anarchist ? 

Where faith ceases, superstition begins ; and he that departs from 
God, finally makes a contract with the devil. Have you not often 
experienced, that men without a spark of faith or religion are more super- 
stitious than the very pagans ? Napoleon I. was inimical to the Church; 
he robbed the Pope, and placed him between gloomy prison walls, yet 
often at night, he was wont to search the starry heavens for the guiding 
light of (what he was weak enough to consider) his " star of destiny."" 
Does not France in our own days, begin to see the necessity of Chris- 
tian faith and piety ? Did not the representative, Brunet, formerly so 
hostile to the Church, vote in 1879, for the building of a temple to 
Christ in one of the public squares of Paris ? Did not the notorious 
Ernest Renan, who, a few years ago, employed his pen to disprove the 
divinity of Christ, not long since publicly declare that: " If France and 
the people of France expect ever to obtain power and respect, the state 
and the people must return to the way which they left, and must again 
become Christians and Catholics "? 

" Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do;" thus the 
dying Saviour prayed, also, for the poor, deluded victims of heresy and 
unbelief j for those weak, misguided men who have been caught in the 
nets of the enemies of Christianity, and believe in false prophets. For- 
give them, for they know not that they are dupes of Christ's inveterate 
adversaries ; and that they serve only as tools for the promotion of 



316 Lenten Sermons. 

their ambitious plans and pernicious schemes ; if they knew it, they 
would not permit themselves to be seduced. 

But you will say: " The world must make progress. Excelsior is the 
watchword of our time. Religion and the Church are opposed to 
progress, and are, therefore, assailed on all sides." Friend, the first 
point, I grant ; the second, never. Yes, the world must make progress, 
for not to advance is to retrograde ; there is, and can be, no standstill 
in material affairs. The human intellect may climb the dizziest heights, 
and count the very stars of heaven ; it may descend into the depths of 
the earth, and bring forth its hidden treasures ; it may search, inquire, 
discover, and invent. Be it so ; — such is its task and its glory. But 
the truths of religion remain, thereby, unharmed and unchanged. You 
speak of progress, — but is there any progress possible in Truth ? No 
more than dispute is possible that two and two make four ; progress, 
in such a case, is equivalent to untruth and error ; and in what God 
has revealed, what the mouth of eternal Truth has spoken, could there 
be any falsehood or vicissitude ? Impossible. Name to me one tenet 
of our holy religion, provided that it has been rightly understood, of which 
true Science has ever proved the contrary with cogent and incontrovert- 
ible proofs ; name to me only one article of faith that is contrary to 
reason. To-day one learned scientist may pretend to have reckoned 
to the year, the present age of this venerable world of ours ; another 
may claim to have discovered the year and day when it will infallibly 
come to an end. But behold, to-morrow others, equally as wise and 
learned, may arise to prove the contrary, and produce counter argu- 
ments of tenfold weight and number. Who is right ? Can truth reside 
in the domain of hesitation and doubt ? Impossible, for Truth is one. 
Where union and unity are, there can be no hesitancy, doubt, or change, 
— yea, not even the faintest shadow of vicissitude. 

Calmly and brightly the sun shines in the heavens, yet it moves not ; 
the earth, moon, and planets surround it, ever in motion, ever winging 
their flight through their changing circuits. So, in immovable tran- 
quillity and radiance, stands the Church in the midst of the confused 
turmoil of the world, and the variable fluctuations of the times. Clouds 
may obscure the splendor of the sun, — fogs and mists may darken, but 
they can never extinguish it. Persecutions may veil for a time, the 
splendors of the Church ; heresies obscure her influence ; but no 
efforts of men or devils can ever injure or destroy her. The rock in 
the ocean stands in the midst of angry waves ; it trembles and groans 
under the stroke of the surging waters, but it falls not. Thus, also, the 
Church stands, and shall stand to the end of time, for she is built upon 



Lenten Sermons. 317 

the Rock, Peter ; and Jesus has given her his promise that he will 
never forsake, but remain with her all days, even to the consummation 
of the world. (Matt. 28 : 20.) 

We must pray then : Father, forgive the enemies of thy Christ and 
of his Church, for they know not what they do : they know not what 
happiness, what repose, are imparted to the soul by faith and piety, — 
what consolation in suffering, what peace in death ! They have for- 
gotten that religion is to man what the staff is to the steps of tottering 
age, what the rudder is to the ship, what the foundation is to the build- 
ing ; — they have forgotten what the great St. Augustine once admirably 
said: " My heart longs for much, but it finds no repose until it rests in 
thee, O Lord !" At the foot of thy cross, O dying Jesus ! we pros- 
trate ourselves in spirit, and adore thy infinite love. Thou who, in 
the agonies of death, hast prayed for thine enemies : " Father, forgive 
them," — give us, also, the strength and grace to forgive our enemies 
from our hearts. Amen. 



THE SECOND WORD. 



" Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise." 
Luke 2 j ; 43. 

Jesus hangs dying on the cross, whilst the heartless multitude stand 
about it, mocking and insulting him : " If thou be the Son of God, 
come down from the cross." Meekly, he prays for them: " Father, 
forgive them ; for they know not what they do !" — and, looking closer, 
we behold that he is not the only sufferer on Calvary. There are two 
other crosses there, — one on each side, — and on them are fastened two 
malefactors, condemned to the same punishment. The All-Holy One 
is exposed in the midst of criminals, — the guiltless among the guilty ! 
As Isaias had long before foretold: " He was reputed with the wicked." 
(Is. 53 : 12.) His enemies seeking to embitter his death, to the utmost, 
heap contumely upon their innocent Victim, and would fain make him 
appear the greatest malefactor of the three. 

Glance for a moment, my brethren, at those criminals on the right 
and left of the Saviour ! The eye of the one glares with a savage 
hatred and despair. Gnashing his teeth with pain and rage, he makes 



3 1 S Lenten Sermons. 

herculean efforts to burst the fetters which fasten him to the cross, — 
curses and blasphemies flow from his lips : " If thou be the Christ, 
save thyself and us." (Luke 23 : 39.) — How different the appearance 
of the thief on our Lord's right hand ! Calm, resigned to the inevit- 
able, — he is well aware that he meets the just reward of his crimes ; 
and he gazes with a strange compassion upon the pallid face of the 
divine Sufferer, whose every feature reflects a heavenly meekness. 
What are those remarkable words he has just uttered ? A prayer for 
his enemies ? Lo ! a ray of grace illuminates the darkness of the good 
thief's soul ; and hearing the blasphemous, insulting scoffs of his 
accomplice, he rebukes him, saying: " Neither dost thou fear God, see- 
ing thou art under the same condemnation ? And we indeed justly ; 
for we receive the due reward of our deeds ; but this man hath done 
no evil." (Luke 23 : 40, 41.) Then he said to Jesus : " Lord, remember 
me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom." And Jesus said to him: 
Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise." (Luke 23: 
42-44.) 

I. The two thieves were alike in their crimes, alike in their guilt and 
punishment, — yet most unlike in their behavior, their repentance, their 
deaths ! Both hang near Jesus, every bone of their bodies racked with 
pain ; but on the left, is suspended a sullen, obdurate sinner, without 
remorse or purpose of amendment, — his evil memory vividly repro- 
ducing all the enormities of his past life. The secret ambush in 
dark forests, the open highway robberies, the assaults upon solitary, 
defenseless travelers, the naked, mangled corses of his victims, whom 
he has robbed of all they possessed — what dreadful visions are these ! 
Conscience urges him, at least, in these final moments of his life, to 
seek a reconciliation with the God whom he has outraged and offended. 
But in vain. As a savage beast caught in the snare, strives desperately 
to extricate itself therefrom, but only entangles itself the more in the 
meshes, — so this impenitent malefactor, though fastened hand and foot 
to the cross, tortured in body and soul,— adds tenfold to his torments 
by giving vent to the blasphemous rage which is consuming his very 
vitals. His venomous tongue utters such taunts as these to the agoniz- 
ing Redeemer: " If thou be the Christ, as thou hast so often declared, 
prove it. Thou hast made the blind to see, the lame to walk, — thou 
hast helped others, help thyself and us !" 

O, obstinate sinner ! behold here your counterpart ! Behold the 
terrible fate which awaits you, if you refuse to renounce your evil 
ways, and become converted to the Lord ! How indescribable are the 
tortures which remorse of conscience inflicts upon the impenitent ! 



Lenten Sermons. 319 

•Only the pure and undenled know what it is to be happy : " A good 
conscience is a perpetual feast." As only he can truly enjoy life, who 
is sound in body, so he only can be truly happy, whose soul is in a state 
of robust spiritual health, whose conscience is free from the stain of 
willful mortal sin. The good Christian may be misunderstood, calum- 
niated, persecuted, — but no earthly trials can rob him of his peace of 
heart ; he knows that God's justice is eternal ; and that, sooner or 
later, victory will be on the side of truth, innocence, and virtue. 
What do riches or honors profit the wicked ? What do diversions or 
plays, wines or banquets, avail him ? The splendid garments in which 
he arrays himself, the beautiful, elegantly furnished house in which he 
dwells, — all these fail to make him happy. He often envies the very 
beggar child at the church door, under whose coarse and tattered gar- 
ments beats an humble heart, free from sin and injustice. He may 
lull, for a time, the ever wakeful voice of conscience, but silence it ? 
Never ! The expiring ember in the ashes needs only a gentle breath, 
in order to kindle once more into a bright flame, so the suppressed 
voice of conscience needs but a gentle breath from heaven to awake 
from its temporary stupor, and flame up accusingly before the aveng- 
ing tribunal of God. It was conscience, and conscience alone, which, 
after the murder of Abel, drove Cain, from place to place, making him 
a wild and restless fugitive upon earth unto the end of his days. 

A bad conscience is a worm that never dies, a fire that is never 
extinguished, a wound that is ever inflamed, and never heals. The 
ancient pagans fitly represented a man tortured by remorse of con- 
science, as one chained fast to a rock, upon whose liver an eagle and 
a vulture alternately fed at intervals. Alas ! how terrible is the death 
of the obdurate sinner ! Does not the wretched end of the impenitent 
thief on the cross reveal to us this truth ? Does not the traitor, Judas, 
declare it, when he destroys his miserable life with the halter of the 
suicide ? And in later times, does not the infidel Voltaire reiterate it 
with renewed force, as, with wild despair and a blasphemy on his lips, 
he gives up his black soul to the demon ? 

Ah 1 quit not the cross, my brethren, without having made a firm pur- 
pose of entering seriously into yourselves, of amending your life. Will 
you defer your repentance to the last fatal hour ? Have you time at 
your command ? Who can assure you that to-day may not be your 
last ? God, it is true, has promised pardon to the penitent, but he has 
not promised to-morrow to the sinner. "No man can serve God and 
mammon." You must make your choice between Christ and the devil, — 
between sin and virtue ; — and postpone not the affair of your conversion 



320 Lenten Sermons. 

to your deathbed. Listen to a case in point. In the days of Queen Eliza- 
beth,who persecuted the Catholics of England and confiscated their prop- 
erty on account of their faith, there lived a wealthy Catholic nobleman r 
who endeavored to make a compromise between his religion and his real 
estate. Outwardly, he pretended to apostatize, but inwardly, he per- 
suaded himself that he was steadfast in the faith. That death might 
not surprise him in this sin, he always kept a priest concealed in his 
house in London, and another at his country-seat. Whether he should 
fall sick in the city or in the country, he thought he would thus 
always have the minister of Christ close at hand. But, one day r 
when the nobleman was on his way to his country-place, he was sud- 
denly seized with apoplexy, and fell unconscious to the ground. The 
servant who accompanied him, hurried off to summon a priest : the 
good man came immediately, but, alas ! he found, — a co7'pse I Does 
not this example cry out to you, my brethren: " Be prudent, lest the 
same thing happen to you ?" No man can serve two masters. You 
know not the day nor the hour when the Lord shall knock at your 
door. 

II. But, turning from this vision of the bad thief, from this revolt- 
ing picture of obduracy, and despair, let us fix our gaze upon the good- 
thief upon the cross, and learn from him lessons worthy our admira- 
tion and imitation. 

We have dwelt upon the astonishment with which that poor suffer- 
ing man heard the dying Redeemer pray for his enemies ; and how 
having witnessed the heavenly resignation and meekness of the 
mangled Lamb of God, he caught from the divine repose and majesty 
of that adorable Face, a ray of grace which penetrated to his inmost 
heart. Enlightened in his interior, and inspired with the strength of 
faith, a voice seems to cry out from the depths of his soul : " This 
must be the Son of God ! " No doubt the poor thief, straightway 
recalls his numberless crimes and evil deeds ; he knows that his sins 
are many and very grievous,-— but he also knows that the mercy of 
God is still greater. The blasphemies of his fellow-criminal fill him 
with disgust and horror ; and having rebuked him severely, reminding 
him that the pains they jointly suffered were the just reward of their 
evil deeds, whilst our Lord was Innocence itself — full of confidence- 
and hope, he turned to Jesus, saying : " Lord, remember me when 
thou shalt come into thy kingdom." (Luke 23 : 42.) In other words, 
he might have said : " I ask not to be freed from the tortures of the 
cross, — for what I suffer is richly deserved ; I ask not for earthly 
goods, — (for my immoderate desires have brought me where I am) ; I 



Lenten Sermons. 321 

only ask ardently for the pardon of my sins, and life everlasting. It 
is true, I am not worthy to say : Take me into thy kingdom — into that 
kingdom which thou didst declare to Pilate is not of this world, and 
into which nothing defiled can enter, — all that I ask is, that after thy 
entrance into that kingdom of glory, thou wouldst graciously remem- 
ber the unfortunate sinner who was found worthy to suffer by thy 
side, and who has died full of sorrow and repentance for his sins ! " 

What an instructive and edifying example ! If you have imitated 
the good thief in his career of crime, imitate him, likewise, in his sin- 
cere conversion. Be not obdurate, like his guilty accomplice ; despair 
not, like Cain or Judas. Discouragement is one of the most fatal of 
sins. Not to despair is in itself a virtue, and bears with it a promise 
of final victory. He who pardoned the penitent thief on the cross is 
the same who pardoned David, Peter, and Magdalene ; and he will 
also wash away your sins, my brethren, in the tears of your repentance. 
" He who is sorry for having sinned is almost innocent." Seneca. 
Though your offences be as numerous as the sands of the sea shore, 
they shall be blotted out from the Book of reckoning ; though they be 
redder than scarlet, he will wash them white as snow. He will say to 
thee : " Thy sins are forgiven thee ; enter thou into my kingdom, 
'enter thou into the joy of thy Lord ! ' " 

What joy and delight must fill the heavens at the conversion of a 
sinner! Christ himself declares it, saying : "There shall be joy in 
heaven upon one sinner that doeth penance, more than upon ninety- 
nine just who need not penance." (Luke 15 : 7.) Is he not always 
the Good Shepherd, who sorrowfully seeks the lost sheep, taking it 
upon his shoulders, and joyfully carrying it back to the fold ? And, 
humanly speaking, O Christian fathers and mothers, is not that child 
dearer to you, whose life, assailed by a dangerous sickness, has long 
hung in the balance between life and death ; and who has been given 
back to you, as it were, from the very jaws of the grave ? After peril 
and imminent danger of death, life and health are always doubly 
dear. 

The penitent thief dies with Christ ; and calm and peaceful is his 
en^d. Yes, it is sweet to die in peace with Christ ; through him the 
bitterness of death is changed into sweetness ; and doubt and fear into 
the hope of eternal salvation. " O death, where is thy victory ? O 
death, where is thy sting ? " 

But is not this happiness within the grasp of all ? Will not the 
same Saviour who expired upon the cross, come to each one of you P 



3 22 Lenten Sermons. 

my brethren, at the hour of death, in order to pour wine and oil into 
your wounds, consolation and peace into your grief-stricken heart ? 
Will he not say to you by the mouth of his priest : " Son, be of good 
heart, thy sins are forgiven thee ;" if thou departest from this earth, 
to-day, sooner or later, thou shall be with me in Paradise ? 

How great must be the perversity and obduracy, how terrible the 
blindness and unbelief of a man who, even on his death-bed, dares 
reject the proffered help of his merciful and loving Saviour ! Yet 
many a priest has encountered such cases. On the other hand, great 
is the responsibility of those who fail to remind sick persons of their 
duty from false fear or undue solicitude for their bodily health ;— or of 
those who call upon the divine Physician when it is too late to profit 
by his ministrations. Is this more the fault of the sick person, or of 
those who surround him? Certainly more the fault of those that 
attend the patient ; since, often, unconscious of his danger, the latter 
lies in a stupor, incapable of thinking or acting for himself. Oh ! 
how easy it is to die with Christ, — how hard, how terrible, to die 
without him ! 

Two malefactors hung upon the cross, but only one was converted. 
Does this not recall those words of warning addressed by our Lord to 
his disciples ? — " Two shall be in the field : the one shall be taken, and 
the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill : the 
one shall be taken, and the other shall be left." — (Math. 24 : 40-41.) 
One of the thieves was converted in his last hour, that no sinner may 
despair ; but, only one, that no sinner may presume. Hence, let this 
single example teach and encourage all who have deferred their con- 
version to the eleventh hour, — all who lie humble and repentant upon 
their death-beds, — to return to God in the bitterness of their hearts 
and with sincere sorrow for their sins ; but let it, also, warn you, my 
brethren, not to defer any longer your conversion and the amendment 
of your lives ; since death-bed conversions are very difficult and very 
rare. As a man lives, so he dies ; he who lives in sin, as a rule, dies 
in sin. 

The two thieves on the cross give us still another important lesson. 
The Lord desired the conversion of both ; but, whilst one rejected the 
proffered grace of God, the other, accepting it, believed and hoped, 
and hence, had the happiness of hearing these words addressed to him 
by Christ : " This day thou shalt be with me in paradise." Here we 
have symbolized the religious history of the Jews and the Gentiles. 
As the thief on the left hand despised and rejected the Saviour, and 



Lenten Sermons. 323 

was therefore rejected by him, in turn, — so it happened with the Jews; 
and as the good thief believed and was justified, so was it with the 
Gentiles. This symbolizes, also, the history of nations and of indi- 
viduals, — both of ancient and modern times. Look at Africa and 
Asia ; for centuries, Christianity flourished in those regions, and ele- 
vated the people to a high degree of prosperity and civilization ; but 
when religion declined, when schisms and dissensions divided and 
weakened the true believers, the light of faith was taken away from 
Africa and Asia, and carried into Europe, to the Germanic and 
Slavonic nations ; and ignorance and desolation settled down on the 
once favored lands. The garden of Christ became a barren wilder- 
ness ; and the false creed of Mahomet now holds the people in the 
bondage of barbarism and superstition. Now, if among Christian 
nations, infidelity and immorality flourish like the banyan tree, if 
partisan hatred and fraternal dissension rend the seamless robe of 
Christ, if coldness and indifference paralyze the faith in Christian 
souls, and redeemed mankind turns away from the Crucified Redeemer 
and his holy Church, — may not those terrible words of the prophet be 
fulfilled to the letter : " If you be not converted from your evil ways 
and do penance, I shall come and take away the light from its place, 
and give it to others who are better, worthier, more faithful, and more 
grateful than you." 

Prostrate before the cross of Calvary, my brethren, let each one of 
us cry out to the Crucified One : " O Jesus, I acknowledge my guilt, 
and I implore thee with the penitent David : ' Have mercy on me 
according to thy great mercy, and according to the multitude of thy 
tender mercies, blot out my iniquity.' Thou who hast said : ' A con- 
trite and humble heart I will not despise,' reject me not when I 
approach thee with tears of sincere repentance. Make me learn from 
the murderer on thy left, how awful is the death of the impenitent 
sinner ; and from the penitent thief on thy right, how tranquil and 
hopeful is the death of him who makes his peace with God, and 
expires in his love and friendship. Preserve us all, O God ! from a 
sudden, an unprovided death ; permit us not to die in our sins, nor 
without the consolation of the holy Sacraments. Give us the grace, 
during this holy season of Lent, to make a good confession and a 
worthy Communion ; that we may appear before thee at Easter with 
clean holy hearts. And when, one day, our senses fail in death, our 
eyes grow dim, and the cold sweat of dissolution bedews our fore- 
heads, assist us with thy holy grace, and grant us, each one of us, to 
hear the consoling words thou didst address to Dysmas on the cross : 
' Be of good heart, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise! ' " Amen, 



324 Lenten Sermons. 



THE THIRD WORD. 



"Woman, behold thy son .... Son, behold thy mother" 
John ig : 26-27. 

When Hagar, the Egyptian hand-maid of Abraham wandered in the 
wilderness of Bersebee, with her little son Ismael, suffering from 
hunger and thirst, and fearing that death was imminent, she sobbed 
aloud ; then saying to herself : " I will not see the boy (my son) die," 
she went her way, thus abandoning her child. Who can fitly portray 
her anguish. But, two thousand years later, we behold another 
mother, who is undergoing more terrible desolation. She stands upon 
Calvary, and she is Mary the Mother of Jesus. Unlike Hagar, we 
behold her surrounded by a brutal soldiery and a clamorous rabble, 
whilst high upon a cross, hangs her divine Son dying. She does not 
flee as did the Egyptian woman lest she should witness the expiring 
throes of her darling child, neither does she lift up her voice and 
weep. Although her heart is breaking, she stands erect, well knowing 
that her Son's sufferings have been decreed from all eternity, and that 
he endures them for the salvation of a guilty world. 

But shall the Son depart from earth without addressing a farewell 
to that afflicted Mother, — without giving one word of consolation to 
her who, with motherly tenderness, had hitherto shared with him his 
every joy and grief? Behold, his thorn-crowned head moves, — his 
eyes, dim with blood and tears, cast down a loving glance upon his 
Mother at his feet, — upon John, his beloved disciple, the only one of 
his Apostles who had not fled. "Woman" says he, "behold thy son 
.... Son, behold thy mother" Only a few words, my brethren, but 
O, how full of love and affection. 

I. " Woman, behold thy son,"— thus the dying Jesus addresses his 
Mother. Why does he call her " woman " ? Why does he not give her 
the tender name of Mother ? Be not scandalized, my dearly beloved. 
Venerable and highly esteemed among the Jews, was the name of 
woman ; it was a title given alike to high and lowly, rich and poor, 
married and single, — yea, even the mother was called " woman." Do 
you not remember how, at the marriage feast of Cana, in Galilee, when 



Lenten Sermons. 325 

Mary his Mother called the attention of her Son to the failure of wine, 
he said to her : " Woman, my hour is not yet come " — ? Besides, 
the word "woman" has another deep and mysterious significance. If 
he had called her " Mother " upon Calvary, it would only have served 
to increase the anguish of their approaching separation. He addresses 
her as " woman," the valiant woman of the Proverbs, the strong, heroic 
woman who had been chosen from all eternity to crush the serpent's 
head. "Woman, behold thy son." What an admirable example of 
filial love is contained in these simple words ! Suffering the most 
violent pains, surrounded by the chill darkness of the night of death, 
the affectionate Son does not forget the duties of a good Son towards 
his mother, but gives her a protector and guardian for the rest of her 
lonely days. " Woman," (this is the meaning of his words) " I must 
die that the world may live ; I must depart from thee, but behold, I 
intrust thee, virginal mother, to a virginal son ; I intrust thee to John, 
my beloved disciple, — to him, who at the Last Supper rested upon my 
breast ; to him, the only one of all the chosen Twelve, who does not 
through fear forsake his master in death. Take him ; and as I have 
ever been a true son to thee in the past, so will he, henceforth, dis- 
charge to thee in my stead, the duties of a devoted son ! " 

" Woman, behold thy son ! " What words of consolation for Mary ; 
but, at the same time, alas ! what words of bitterness ! Words of con- 
solation, inasmuch as the Mother hearing once more the dear voice of 
her Son, knows that he is thinking of her, and caring for her future 
welfare even amid the agonies of a cruel death. But words of bitter- 
ness, since they convey to her the farewell of her only and beloved 
Son, — giving her John instead of Jesus, — the disciple as a substitute 
for his divine Master ! 

" Mother, behold thy son ! " Oh, that the cross, to-day, might 
become a pulpit wherein your expiring Lord, the grand Preacher of the 
ages, might teach you, children, how to behave towards your father and 
mother ; and especially, how to love and cherish your old, sick, or 
infirm parents. May you never forget that, after God, you owe all 
that you are and have, to your parents. How often have you been 
reminded of the Fourth Commandment in this holy place ; how often 
have you been told to honor and obey your father and your mother ! 
O, my son, my daughter, if thou wouldst be long-lived and prosperous 
upon the earth, — fulfill diligently this command of the Most High. 
To-day, your dying Redeemer upon the cross, presenting to you his 
own beautiful example of filial devotion, cries out to you : " Son, sup- 
port the old age of thy father ; and grieve him not in his life ; and if 



326 Lenten Sermons. 

his understanding fail, have patience with him, and despise him not, 
when thou art in thy strength ; for the relieving of thy father shall not 
be forgotten." (Ecclus. 3: 14, 15.) Does not God, in the Law of 
Moses, as well as in the Book of Proverbs, declare the fate of the 
wicked and ungrateful child ? " He that curseth his father, or mother, 
dying, let him die, he hath cursed his father and mother, let his blood 
be upon him." (Lev. 20 : 9.) " The eye that mocketh at his father, 
and that despiseth the labor of his mother in bearing him, let the 
ravens of the brooks pick it out, and let the young eagles eat it." 
(Prov. 30:17.) 

Truly, there would not be so much strife in families, nor so much 
misery upon earth, if children would always have the Fourth Com- 
mandment of God before their eyes, and faithfully fulfilled it. Does 
not daily experience convince us that the sins of children towards their 
parents are most terribly avenged ; and that the parent's curse often 
destroys forever the happiness of their ungrateful offspring ? The 
hand of a wicked child raised to strike its father or its mother (as the 
saying is), shall find no rest even in the grave, but growing out of the 
earth, shall serve as a terrifying example to all future violators of the 
divine and natural law. Unto the fourth generation, does the vengeance 
of God pursue the unnatural child ; for the descendants of a disrespect- 
ful son or daughter mete out to their unhappy parents, the same 
measure of insult, disobedience, and dishonor, they, in their turn, had 
shown the authors of their being. 

II. "Woman, behold thy son!" Having spoken these farewell 
words to his Mother, the dying Redeemer, turning to St. John, exclaims: 
" Son, behold thy mother." Behold, oh ! best beloved and most faith- 
ful of my disciples, dying, I leave not to thee earthly treasures. Poor 
and naked, I came into the world ; poor and naked, also, I go out of 
it ; but one precious legacy I do leave thee ; one priceless treasure I 
bequeath to thee at parting — my Virgin Mother ! I intrust her to thy 
care, that thou mayst be to her what I have always been during life, — 
a faithful, devoted son. 

O Mary, Mother of Dolors, could these words completely comfort 
and satisfy thee ? To John they were words of sweetest consolation ; 
since the confidence reposed in him by his divine Master was the 
highest honor that could be then conferred on him ; but to the heart 
of Mary, they were words of bitterness. Who can understand the 
magnitude of the grief which she experienced that hour ! Then it 
was, that the sword of sorrow, foretold by Simeon, pierced her desolate 



Lenten Sermons. 327 

heart, urging her to cry out in the words of the Inspired Text : " O 
all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any grief like 
to my grief !" 

At the time when the Judges ruled in Israel, a great famine arose in 
the land. Elimelech, with his wife, Noemi, and their two sons went 
from their birthplace, Bethlehem, into the distant country of Moab, to 
escape starvation. They remained there ten years ; and, in the mean- 
time, the husband and children of Noemi having died, sad and sorrow- 
ful she sets out to return to her native place. Bowed down with 
sufferings and age, — care and sorrow depicted on her countenance, — 
she drags herself, once more, through the gate of Bethlehem. The 
women of the city, meeting her, ask in astonishment : " Is not this 
Noemi, the amiable ?" " Nay, no longer Noemi, the amiable," she 
makes answer, — "but Mara, the bitter one, for the Lord has filled my 
heart with bitterness." 

Behold, my brethren, in Mary at the foot of the cross, the amiable 
one, whose heart is, also, filled with bitterness. Amiable Virgin and 
Mother of grace, she has given us the Redeemer of the world ; — but, 
alas ! she is overflowing with bitterness, since, from the birth of her 
Son in Bethlehem until his death upon Calvary, her life has been 
one continuous series of the bitterest griefs. Every pain and trial of 
the Man of Sorrows was reflected in her sympathetic heart. Even 
when a child, she saw his life threatened by the bloodthirsty Herod ; 
she witnessed the hatred of his enemies, the ingratitude of those whom 
he had come to redeem. But what was all this compared to the agony 
which she experienced during his cruel Passion and death ? What 
must she have felt in that night of horrors when her divine Son was 
praying and sweating blood in the Garden of Olives, — when, at the 
various tribunals of his unjust judges, he was mocked, maltreated, 
scourged, struck, and defiled with spittle ? But the chalice of bitter- 
ness was full to overflowing, when she stood at the foot of the cross, 
and beheld her beloved Child, mangled, bleeding, dying ! 

The precious Blood runs down in streams to the earth, — the divine 
Victim moves his thorn-crowned head from side to side, seeking in 
vain some alleviation of its pains. The sorrowful Mother sees all ; 
she stands and suffers, — her heart beating violently, her limbs trem- 
bling. Lo ! the fountains of her tears are dried up, — but no word or 
sound escapes her. She complains not of the dispensations of God ; 
she demands not revenge nor condign punishment upon the inhuman 
executioners of her Son. She hears him pray for his enemies. She 



3 2 8- Lenten Sermons. 

hears him promise paradise to the good thief ; and she envies that 
repentant malefactor. It is granted to him, at least, to die, — to be 
relieved of his torments ; only a few moments more, and he shall enjoy 
the delights of paradise with her Son, but she Mother of bitterness, 
must remain, for many years to come, in this land of exile, bewailing 
the loss of her beloved Son. And now, she hears the farewell which 
he addresses to her : " Woman, behold thy son." And a few moments 
later: " Son, behold thy mother." So near and yet so far, it is not 
given her to press her lips upon his, in a fond, parting kiss. 

When Cambyses, king of the Persians, had defeated and taken pris- 
oner Psametich, king of the Egyptians, — in order to punish him for 
his long resistance, he devised a certain plan whereby the royal captive 
might be made keenly sensible of his miserable condition. Placed in 
an open square, and guarded by soldiers, Psametich beheld his daugh- 
ter led by, like a slave, bearing on her head a tub filled with water. 
Even the proud Persians wept at this humiliation of a royal princess ; 
Psametich, alone, remained seemingly quiet and unmoved. Then, his 
son, the heir of his throne, was also led before him with an iron ring 
about his neck, like a slave. The king's eye remained dry, his tongue 
was dumb. All looked upon him with astonishment. Finally, his 
faithful servant was brought before him, — at which sight the king 
burst into tears. " Why," they asked, " do you now shed tears ?" He 
replied : " The calamity that has befallen me and my children is so 
great that I have become insensible to it, but for the sufferings of 
others, there is still some sympathy and compassion left in my heart V* 

Can we not say the same, my brethren, of the sorrows of the Mother 
of God ? O mourner of this earth, weep if you can, for the flood of 
tears that streams from your eyes will mitigate your pain, and alleviate 
the oppression of your heart. Mary can weep no more ; even the con- 
solation of tears is denied her. Oh ! the dumb, silent grief, the sorrow 
which has dried up the very well-springs of the eye, — is not this the 
most awful of all earthly woes ? 

III. " Son, behold thy mother. And from that hour, John took her 
to his own." (John 19: 21.) From the Mother at the foot of the cross, 
I direct your attention to another mother in a like desolation. Many 
sons and daughters she calls her own, and loves them with a true and 
tender heart. But sad and grief-stricken is her countenance, bowed 
down her form, — not from age or infirmity, but from sorrow. Her 
children have, many of them, forgotten their mother, some have even 
raised their hands, in insolent audacity, to strike her. Who is this 



Lenten Sermons. 329 

sorrowful mother ? O Christian, it is your mother, the Church. " My 
son, my daughter, behold thy mother !" Jesus cries to you from the 
cross : "Behold my divine and spotless Spouse, despised, calumniated, 
mocked, persecuted by her enemies." 

Is it not so ? Has not the Church cultivated and trained the civil- 
ized nations of the earth ; given a mother's tender care to the sons 
who now, in pride and disobedience, rebel against her ? Cast a glance 
at the present age, my brethren, and behold the pitiable spectacle pre- 
sented to your view ! Mankind seems to be divided into three classes. 
One class are the pronounced enemies of religion of every form of 
divine worship. In their wild frenzy, they would fain subvert the 
whole existing moral order. Against Christianity, as the foundation of 
human society and civil laws, — against the dignity and authority of 
temporal and spiritual power, they openly rebel, or secretly plot and 
scheme. They fight with the weapons of falsehood and calumny ; their 
chief agent, the Press, controls and poisons public opinion ; and woe 
to the man who dares to oppose their atheistical views ! He is either 
branded with infamy, or publicly ostracized. They seize upon every 
opportunity to sound the trumpet of unbelief, or scatter clouds of 
sophistical dust in the eyes of the unwary. Let a priest take but a 
single false step (man as he is, — and we are all weak), and immediately 
an outcry is raised by these critical censors, — as though they were 
purity itself, instead of whited sepulchres. To such, the words of Holy 
Writ are applicable : " Woe to you that make day night and night day, 
who call true false, and false true." 

And the second class ? They are the most numerous. They will 
tell you that they have nothing against the Church, faith and religion ; 
but they are not what is called " enthusiastic Catholics." They go to 
church because their fathers and grandfathers went ; because it is the 
custom, and they would be remarked if they stayed away. They do 
not calumniate faith nor its ministers ; but if others, in their presence, 
indulge in railleries or scoffs at priests and pious practices, they suffer 
them to do so without showing displeasure by a single look or word. 
They are slothful, tepid Catholics, incurring the condemnation ad- 
dressed to the Laodicean of old : " Because thou art lukewarm, and 
neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth." — 
(Apoc. 3 : 16.) 

And finally, the third class? This is the smallest ; it is but a little 
flock (pusillus grex) of faithful, constant and courageous confessors 
of the faith, who fear neither reproach nor sneer, and who are ready 



330 Lenten Sermons. 

at any time to sacrifice property and life for the Church of Christ. 
As St. John amid the horrors of Calvary took the afflicted Mother 
henceforth for his portion, — so, amid the trials and sufferings of this 
present time, the faithful Catholic casts his lot, unshrinkingly and un- 
waveringly, with his afflicted mother, the Church. Knowing that the 
storms of persecution must pass ; and that Christ has assured his 
divine spouse : " Behold, I am with you all days, even unto the con- 
summation of the world," (Matt. 28:10) — they console themselves in 
their tribulations with those other words of Eternal Truth : "Whosoever 
shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father 
who is in heaven." — (Matt. 10:32.) To which of these three classes, 
my brethren, do you belong ? 

IV. " Son, behold thy mother," thus the dying Redeemer said to us 
all in the person of St. John. Yes, Christians, behold Mary, your 
mother ! Standing at the foot of the cross, full of maternal love for 
you, she has sacrificed her only beloved Son for your eternal salvation. 
Every pang that she endures is for you. Eighteen hundred years have 
elapsed since that dreadful day on Calvary, yet her maternal love for 
you has not been extinguished. She has never ceased, and can never 
cease, to be the Mother of Jesus ; and hence, she has never ceased to 
be your mother, the second Eve, the mother of all the living. Fly, 
therefore, to her, my brethren, to the Comforter of the afflicted, the 
Refuge of sinners, the Help of Christians, who has never yet refused 
consolation and help to her clients. 

When, in the year 1522, the Turks conquered the island of Rhodus, 
which the Christian knight, LTse Adam, had long and heroically de- 
fended, the latter returned with the remnant of his fleet to the city of 
Messina. He was received with tears and loud lamentations by the 
inhabitants who had gathered at the shore ; but, hoisting the flag of 
the only ship which had escaped the general destruction, he there 
revealed to their mournful gaze, the picture of our Lady of Dolors, to 
which was appended this inscription : " Our help in every tribulation 
and necessity ! " Yes, my brethren, Mary is, indeed, our help in every 
tribulation and necessity, both of body and soul. Where is the 
mourner whose tears she does not hasten to dry ? Where the suffering 
heart which she does not delight to comfort and to heal ? Where, above 
all, the sinner who invokes her in his night of misery, and fails to 
receive light and peace, pardon and eternal salvation ? 



Lenten Sermons. 331 



THE FOURTH WORD. 



" My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Mark ij: 34. 

Standing under the cross of Calvary, to-day, we again contemplate 
our bleeding Saviour, languishing in his last agony. Whilst the streams 
of his precious blood descend for the redemption of a sinful world, the 
meridian sun of Palestine glows upon, and burns, the defenceless 
Sufferer. Not the faintest breeze is abroad ; but a dismal, unwhole- 
some mist has settled down upon the plains around Jerusalem. The 
clamor of the mocking multitude becomes gradually weaker ; only a 
hollow murmur from a distance, now strikes upon the ear, — interrupted 
occasionally, by the loud curses of the Roman soldiers. 

Our Saviour has placed in safe keeping his only treasure upon earth 
— his beloved Mother. Nearer and nearer approaches the solemn 
moment of death. There, he hangs upon the cross, deserted by his 
Apostles and disciples, by his friends and followers. Helpless and 
alone, abandoned to all the tortures of an ignominious death, — even 
his Eternal Father has, at last, withdrawn his interior consolations. 
The Saviour of men must drain to the very dregs that bitter chalice of 
suffering, from which he had prayed, during his bloody sweat, to be 
delivered, saying : " O my Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass 
from me !" (Matt. 26 : 39.) 

The subdued murmur of mockery from the multitude is suddenly 
hushed. Some anxiously raise their eyes to heaven ; others, with 
terrified gestures, point upwards. The sun's disk, which only a few 
moments ago, was bright and shining, grows gradually smaller and 
dimmer ; the brilliant orb of day is wholly obscured ; and gloomy 
night settles down upon the scene. Then, become visible the stars of 
heaven ; a cold, biting wind blows over the landscape ; the birds, 
affrighted, fly from their nests ; the terrified beasts arise from their 
lairs ; the cattle low uneasily in their stalls ; even the scoffers around 
the cross are dumb ; — an ominous silence ensues. Ah ! comfortless, 
as is the face of nature, still more sorrowful and void is the heart of 
our Saviour. " My God, my God" he exclaims, with failing voice, 
"why hast thou forsaken me?" Let us briefly meditate upon these 
words. 



332 Lenten Sermons. 

I. Alas ! three long hours of torture have been passed upon this cruel 
cross, and the gaping wounds are every instant widening and becom- 
ing more painful. Terrible, however, as are these bodily sufferings, 
they are nothing in comparison with the intense torments of his soul. 
He sees, in spirit, the myriads of men, for whom his blood will have 
been shed in vain and the immense number to whom he will be a sign 
to be contradicted, and at this sight his heart is overwhelmed with 
anguish and he cries out : " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
me ? " Incomprehensible words ! Has he not the fullness of the God- 
head actually residing within him and is he not consubstantial with 
his heavenly Father? Yes, — but he now suffers as man and as such 
only is he, at this supreme moment, deserted by his eternal Father. 
Almighty God has withdrawn from him those interior consolations 
which he heretofore enjoyed. 

He must suffer and endure all that any man can suffer, so that he may 
pay the infinite debt of sinful humanity. He does not sorrowfully 
exclaim at that moment : " My Father, why hast thou forsaken 
me ?" — but, *' My God ! " for the Son does not then see in God, his 
Father, nor the Father in him, his Son. The agonizing Christ on the 
cross is, to his Eternal Father, the representative of sin-laden human- 
ity ; the sacrificial Lamb, whose death shall reconcile earth and heaven. 
In that mysterious hour, he stands to his heavenly Father in the 
relation of a servant, of a sinner, who must, therefore, endure all the 
dreadful desolation which the sinner experiences when he is deserted 
by God. 

" My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" These words 
imply still more. They are the initial words of the Twenty-first 
Psalm. More than a thousand years before the birth of our Redeemer, 
king David had chanted them, — portraying in that special psalm, the 
sufferings and death of the future Redeemer. Now, hanging on the 
cross, our Saviour repeats the first words of this psalm, in order to 
remind the by-standers that the prophecy of David has been fulfilled 
in his Person. 

" My God" — thus runs the psalm— " why hast thou forsaken me? 
O my God ! I shall cry by day and thou wilt not hear. ... In thee 
have our fathers hoped : they have hoped, and thou hast delivered 
them. . . . But I am a worm, and no man ; the reproach of men, 
and the outcast of the people. All they that saw me have laughed me 
to scorn ; they have spoken with the lips and wagged the head : He 
hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him ; let him save him, seeing he 



Lenten Sermons. 333 

delighteth in him. . . . I am poured out like water, and all my bones 
are scattered. My heart has become like wax melting in the midst of 
my bowels. My strength was dried up like a pot-sherd, and my 
tongue hath cleaved to my jaws. . . . They have dug my hands and my 
feet : they have numbered all my bones. They have looked and 
stared upon me : they have parted my garments amongst them, and 
upon my vesture they have cast lots," Has not this prophecy been 
literally and wonderfully fulfilled in the circumstances attendant upon 
the death of Christ ? Is it not as if David himself stood upon Mount 
Calvary under the shadow of the cross ; as if he actually saw the 
scorn of the multitude, the torments of the dying Redeemer ? 

O, my agonizing Saviour, thy dreadful dereliction on the cross, thy 
profound desolation and utter abandonment have never yet been 
equalled, and can never be surpassed ! The martyrs, going joyfully to 
death for thee, longed, it is true, to suffer the most terrible torments. 
A St. Ignatius, on hearing the roaring of the lions that were about to 
devour him, exclaimed : " I am the wheat of Christ, which must be 
ground by the teeth of savage beasts, in order that I may be found as 
pure bread." A St. Lawrence, lying upon the glowing gridiron, cried 
out, when one of his thighs was already burned to a crisp : " Turn me 
over, for I am roasted enough on this side ! " Other holy martyrs 
were covered with pitch, and set on fire, like torches ; others again 
were slowly dismembered, singing triumphantly, in the midst of their 
torments, and kissing the instruments of torture. But the crucified 
Saviour was the Supreme Source of all their courage and constancy : 
they drew their superhuman strength and endurance altogether from 
the treasury of his infinite merits. Jesus, the strength of martyrs, 
alone, was really helpless and deserted in his agony. Abandoned by 
God and man, he was suspended on the cruel Tree of the cross, his 
soul inundated by a limitless sea of bitterness : — " My God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me ? " 

Behold ! even inanimate nature, at that moment, bore testimony to 
the grief of her expiring Lord and Maker ; even the lifeless rocks were 
rent as if with compassion for our suffering Saviour, — a reproach to the 
stony-hearted Jews who refused to acknowledge or pity him ! In the 
chilly darkness which covered the earth, men and beasts trembled with 
fear and consternation. 

Was this sudden darkening of the sun at noonday, a natural or a 
common occurrence ? O my brethren, any one, in the least acquainted 
with the ordinary laws of nature, will not hesitate to declare it an ex- 



334 Lenten Sermons. 

traordinary phenomenon. As is well known, astronomers can easily 
calculate (from a knowledge of the motions of the moon and earth), 
when a solar eclipse will take place. But, according to the testimony 
of the scientists, such a phenomenon could not have taken place dur- 
ing the week in which our Lord suffered. Why not ? First, the dark- 
ness which fell upon the earth on that first Good Friday lasted from 
the sixth to the ninth hour, — three hours, — which, for a complete 
solar eclipse (as this must have been), is unheard of. Secondly, a 
solar eclipse can take place only at the time of the ne7v moon, never 
at that of the full moon. Now, during the week of our Lord's Passion, 
the moon was at the full ; since, after this week, came the Pasch of the 
Jews, who always celebrated that festival after the first vernal full 
moon. The fact of this mysterious darkness is confirmed by ancient 
and reliable witnesses : " In the fourteenth year of the 202nd Olym- 
piad," writes the secretary of the Emperor Adrian, " a solar eclipse 
took place, greater than any that had hitherto been known; it was 
night at the sixth hour (noonday), so that the stars were visible." 

"At the moment when Christ hung upon the cross," Tertullian 
cries out to the Romans : "When the sun was in the zenith, the light of 
day disappeared. You will find this event described in your annals." 
Yes, even the Prophet Amos prophesied it in these words : "And it 
shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that the sun shall 
go down at midday ; and I will make the earth dark in the day of 
light." (Amos 8 : 9.) 

The God of nature dies — and the sun is obscured ; darkness covers 
i:he whole earth. If you permit the Lord to die in your hearts, my 
dear Christians ; if you suffer the light of faith to be extinguished in 
your souls ; or if you impiously quench the divine light in the hearts 
of others, — causing them to apostatize from Christ and his Church, — 
then will the awful darkness of an infernal night descend upon you, 
as well as upon the victims and sharers of your sin ! 

II. " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? " Many 
amongst us, my dearly beloved, may have often repeated this sorrow- 
ful lament. Thus prays the poor, oppressed father of a family, whose 
daily companions are want and misery ; and who vainly strives with 
his scanty means to feed and clothe his numerous offspring. " Why 
hast thou forsaken me, O God?" Thus, also, questions the desolate 
widow: " Thou hast taken away my staff, the bread-winner of my family, 
— my husband!" "Why hast thou forsaken me ?" Thus wails the father, 
or mother, from whom death has snatched away a beloved child. 



Lenten Sermons. 335 

'"Why hast thou forsaken me ? " Thus moans, as well, the sufferer, 
upon his bed of pain. Have you just cause, O unfortunate ones, thus 
to complain ? Alas ! I cannot blame you for giving expression to 
your overpowering grief in sobs and lamentations. Nevertheless, dear 
friends, dry your tears, cease to complain, or, at least, do not give way 
to despair. Raise your eyes to the cross ; he who hangs upon it might 
justly exclaim : " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? " — 
for he was truly desolate and forsaken, which you are not. So long 
as you do not forsake God, he will never desert you ; so long as you 
cherish in your hearts a true faith and confidence in God, no amount 
of temporal misfortunes can ever make you really unhappy. " ' In thee, 
O Lord ! do I trust,' " prays the faithful Christian, in the midst of his 
bitterest trials, " 'let me not be confounded for ever.' Thou feedest 
the worms in the dust, and the birds in the air ; thou clothest the 
flower of the field more gloriously than Solomon in all his magnificence, 
— thou wilt not then desert me, thy child ; for thou hast promised to 
aid thy faithful servants, saying : ' Call upon me in the day of tribu- 
lation, and I will deliver thee.' " 

Yes, truly, my brethren, God never withdraws his grace from a man 
unless the latter first forsakes him : and though he should appear to 
hide his countenance for a time, it is only to try our faith and hope in 
.him. When, in the winter, it is cold, dark, and comfortless ; when 
the flowers no longer exhale their perfumes, and the song of the birds 
is hushed, — tell me, my friends, is the sun to be blamed for all this ? 
Certainly not ; that brilliant orb still retains its place in the heavens, 
diffusing its light and heat with the same force as before : but, our 
side of the earth being turned from the sun for a time, its beams strike 
us less directly than before. Dearly beloved ! the relations between 
the sun and the earth resemble those existing between God and man : he 
does not withdraw from me the sun of his grace, whose rays have ever 
the same power to warm, — but I, alas ! turn aside from him, at times, 
and obstinately .close my heart to those heavenly beams. 

Tell me, my brethren, if you lived continually on sweets, would 
they not, at last, fill you only with disgust ? As it is with sweetmeats, 
so is it with happiness. Sweets upon sweets sicken the body ; and in 
the spiritual order, nauseate the soul. The heart of the ever prosper- 
ous man becomes cold ; it forgets God, the Dispenser of all goods, 
until his hand is laid heavily upon it, reminding it of its weakness. "If 
we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not 
receive evil?" said the patient Job. When, during the heat of summer 
the sun glows day after day, in the firmament, no wind stirs, and not 



Z3 () Lenten Sermons. 

the smallest cloud obscures the heavens, — many are delighted with the 
weather ; but, lacking the fertilizing rain and the purifying thunder 
storms, the flowers wither, the grass is scorched, the crops are ruined, 
and sickness, scarcity, and famine arise. Continued good fortune in 
life is like a succession of cloudless summer days. Sunshine and rain, 
alternate joy and sorrow are the blessings of God's all wise providence. 
If things go badly with you, do not question, why God seems to for- 
sake you, while every thing prospers with others ; — why he loads the 
wicked with good things, and fills the lives of the just with trials and 
privations. Let me relate to you an incident, which I hope will recur 
to your minds whenever you are tempted to question the providence 
of God, and its mysterious dispensations. 

When a certain holy Archbishop of Lyons was stricken with a dan- 
gerous and painful sickness, a monk stood by his bedside, administer- 
ing to him spiritual consolation. Among other encouraging remarks,, 
he made the following comparison : " God treats man as the physician 
treats his patient. So long as there is still hope that the disease can 
be cured, the doctor gives him the bitterest medicines ; he cuts and 
burns, often inflicting on him inexpressible pain ; but if, on the con- 
trary, the patient is incurable, then, the doctor spares him all suffer- 
ing ; he gives him agreeable medicines ; he allows him to enjoy any 
thing that pleases his palate ; and seeks to render the few hours of life 
that remain to him, as cheerful and comfortable as possible." "Thus," 
said the Religious, " God acts with the sinner. If he be not utterly 
perverse and dead to grace, God sends him many tribulations in order 
to arouse his conscience, and lead him to a thorough reformation of 
life ; but, on the other hand, if the heart of the sinner be hardened in 
vice, he leaves him to himself ; he even sometimes, grants him honors,, 
riches, and pleasures, in order to reward him for the few good deeds 
which he may have done in his life, and for which he has nothing to 
expect in the world to come." Do not these words serve to encourage 
us in our tribulations ? Do they not explain to us many things in life, 
which have often puzzled us ? 

III. " My God, why hast thou forsaken me ? " our dying Saviour 
cries out to his heavenly Father from the cross. " My child, why hast 
thou forsaken me ? " he calls out to each one of us unfaithful Christ- 
ians. " Why, O sinner ! hast thou turned away from me, thy Redeemer, 
thy Benefactor ? Why hast thou rejected me, the corner-stone of thy 
salvation ? Why hast thou despised the benefits with which I have 
loaded thee ? Why hast thou turned thy back upon me, who am the 
Light and Truth, — embracing, instead, the falsehood and darkness of 



Lenten Sermons. 337 

the infernal Enemy ? Why, like Judas, hast thou betrayed and sold 
me, thy Master, for such contemptible rewards as the world could offer 
thee ? Why hast thou joined the irreligious rabble who, by their 
crimes, nail me again and again to the cross ? Why, like the lost 
sheep, hast thou deserted thy true Shepherd, who seeks thee, untiringly, 
day and night, among the thorns, in the desert, on the mountains, and 
in the valleys, although thou remainest deaf to his voice, and wilt 
not permit him to find thee ?" 

As a parent chastises his child simply because he loves it, so hast 
thou often punished me, because thou lovest me. Give me strength 
to drink the few drops of bitterness which thou dost present me from 
thy own chalice overflowing with wormwood and gall. Here burn, 
here cut, but spare me for eternity. 



THE FIFTH WORD. 



" I thirst r John 19: 28. 

A solitary traveler wanders through the Great Desert ; the scorch- 
ing rays of the sun beat down with intense fury upon the wide, arid 
plain. Weary unto death, and thoroughly exhausted, the fainting man 
drags along, sinking every moment, ankle deep, in the burning sand. 
Longingly, his eye searches the distant scene. Is he seeking, perchance, 
a tree, under whose grateful shadow he may stretch himself and rest 
his tired limbs? Is he in quest of a green spot, — a human habitation, 
wherein he may find shelter from the beasts of the desert, or obtain 
some nourishment to appease his tormenting hunger ? No ; he is 
looking anxiously for a spring ; whereat to slake his devouring thirst, 
and refresh his burning tongue. 

But, alas ! there is no well-spring in view. The hours drag on ; he 
becomes gradually weaker ; his limbs refuse their service — exhausted 
unto death, he finally sinks down, unconscious. "Water, 0, for a drop 
of water ! " — these are his last words. 

Yes, thirst is really the final and most horrible agony preceding 
dissolution. "I thirst," is the last word of the dying warrior, when, 
exhausted by loss of blood, he lies helpless and forsaken on the battle 



33% Lenten Sermons. 

field ; " I thirst," is the constant cry of the fever stricken patient 
on his bed of sickness ; and so on, all through suffering Nature, down 
to the plaintive murmur of the dying flower, withered upon its stalk by 
a long continued drought. 

But hark! the same pathetic cry resounds, to-day, from the cross on 
Golgotha, issuing from the pallid lips of the dying God-Man. To all the 
other inexpressible pains and torments endured in his extremity, are 
added those of the most violent and consuming thirst. A few fo- 
ments ago, he bewailed, as it were, his entire abandonment and deso- 
lation, crying out : "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" — 
and now, knowing that all things were accomplished that the Scripture 
might be fulfilled, he said : " I thirst" This fifth word of Jesus, my 
brethren, shall form the subject of our Lenten meditation, to-day. 

I. Alas ! what terrible exertions and labors has not the Saviour of 
men undergone during his Passion! Reflect seriously, my beloved, on 
all that he has suffered, — upon the sweat and blood he shed during 
that day and night of horror. Consider the many weary steps he has 
taken. Since the close of his Last Supper, not a morsel of food, not 
a drop of water, has passed his lips. After his bloody agony in the 
Garden of Olives; his three hours' exhausting prayer upon the ground, — 
his arrest, his tedious ordeal before Annas and Caiphas, Pilate and 
Herod, — he is scourged at the pillar, and crowned with thorns, — every 
drop of blood which escapes from his sacred veins, adding fuel to the 
dreadful thirst which is consuming him. Not an instant is given him 
for rest or refreshment ; until, languishing, and ready to sink from 
exhaustion, they lay upon his wounded shoulders the hard wood of the 
cross. Dripping with sweat, he drags along under the burning rays of 
an oriental sun, falling again and again. Finally, arriving at Golgotha, 
the divine Victim is nailed violently to the cross ; the blood pours 
forth unceasingly from his gaping wounds, whilst his naked body is 
tortured by the fierce rays of the sun ; thus, he hangs three long hours 
on the Tree of the cross, suffering more than martyrdom, without even 
a drop of water to moisten his parched lips. 

When they reached Golgotha, and the soldiers were about to nail 
the innocent Victim to the cross, some compassionate women offered 
him a draught of wine mixed with the juice of certain strong herbs, — 
an anodyne which it was customary to administer to malefactors 
before execution, so that, becoming stupefied, they might not be able 
to feel the torments of death. In the case of our Lord, however, his 
cruel enemies mingled gall and myrrh with the draught, in order to 



Lenten Sermons. 339 

drench his mouth with bitterness. Consumed as he was with thirst, 
Christ refused to drink. He wished to resign his soul into the hands 
of his Father, and to complete the work of Redemption voluntarily, 
and in the full possession of all his faculties. Nearer and nearer, 
approached the consummation of that grand desire ; vitality begins 
to languish, and death is eager to claim its prey. Still, like the weak 
flame of a taper, which blazes up brightly just before it is finally 
extinguished, so the vital powers flicker in the dying Saviour. Once 
more, before life ends, — the death sweat bedewing his pallid counte- 
nance — consumed with fever, yet still triumphant over pain of every 
kind, he cries out with a loud voice, " I thirst !" 

II. "I thirst!" O, wonderfully mysterious words! They are 
addressed to you, O, Christians ! " I thirst !" he exclaims : " I desire 
the consummation of that sacrifice of redemption which shall effect 
your salvation, and that of all mankind ; I thirst to see you all, as 
believing. children, assembled round my cross ; to see you accepting 
the truths which I have taught, and which have the power of making 
you eternally happy. The water of divine grace streams forth from 
me, and I thirst to have you drink of this pure stream in deep draughts, 
— to the end that it may heal and strengthen you unto everlasting life. 

4C I thirst to do penance for your sins ; for yours, O drunkard, who 
by your intemperance, have, so often, robbed yourself of reason, the 
noblest gift of man ; and degraded yourself below the level of the brute. 
For your sins, I thirst, O miserable glutton, who sit at a luxurious 
table, gratifying your appetite with delicate meat and drink, and 
squandering in expensive wines the means your father accumulated 
by untiring industry for your decent support. For you, too, I thirst, 
unscrupulous husband, who waste at the tavern the money which your 
wife has brought you, or has helped you to earn. Instead of caring 
for her support, and that of her children, you condemn your family to 
utter want and wretchedness, spending days and nights away from 
them, in beastly drunkenness, or, if you return at all to your wretched 
home, rushing in upon its poor inmates, like a furious animal ; and 
cruelly visiting the consequences of your own sins upon your innocent 
wife and children. I suffer burning thirst, that I may thus do penance 
for you, O disobedient CJu-istian ! who cannot even abstain from flesh 
meat on Fridays — on that day on which I drank vinegar and gall, and on 
which I suffered and died for you ! For you, too, O careless Catholicsl 
I suffer the pangs of thirst seeing that you cannot deny yourselves, or 
forego your worldly amusements and gratifications, even during this 
holy season, when the contemplation of my Passion should animate 



340 Lenten Sermons. 

you to constant acts of mortification. Hence, I thirst, O drunkard ! in 
order to make you temperate; O cold and slothful Christian ! in order 
to make you zealous ; O spendthrift ! in order to make you econom- 
ical ; O idler ! in order to make you industrious ; O proud and 
arrogant one ! in order to make you humble ; O hard-hearted miser ! 
in order to make you compassionate and generous ; O profligate ! in 
order to make you pure of heart ; O angry and revengeful man ! in 
order to make you patient and meek!" 

III. " I thirst!" exclaims our dying Saviour to each one of us, my 
brethren ; " I thirst for thee, and for the salvation of thy soul!" Let 
each one of us ask ourselves then, in return : " For what do / thirst ? 
Do I thirst for thee, my Saviour ? Do I thirst for heaven and its 
imperishable goods, or for the earth and its fleeting treasures !" Oh ! 
what a miserable, pitiable creature man is ! What a contradiction,, 
what an inexplicable riddle even to himself ! Alas ! body and soul war 
constantly against each other, " The spirit is willing, but the flesh is 
weak." The soul aspires to God, and finds no peace until it rests in 
him ; the body, on the contrary, is of the earth, earthy, and hangs like 
a leaden weight on the wings of the soul, dragging it down into the 
dust and mire of sin. 

This is the meaning of those words of Job: " Man's life on earth is a 
perpetual warfare;" and of those other words written by the great Apostle 
of the Gentiles in his Epistle to the Romans : " I am carnal, sold under 
sin ; for I do not that good which I will, but the evil which I hate, that 
I do." When I desire to obtain a transitory good, a fleeting pleasure, 
a worldly gratification, an hour of amusement, nothing is too difficult, 
nothing too arduous ; at such times, I sacrifice money, goods, time, 
sleep, and food, — yea, I willingly travel thousands of miles, — because 
the coveted object is for myself, but when it is a question of doing 
something for my salvation, when serious questions, such as these, 
arise : In what state is my conscience ? If our Lord, this very day, 
were to call me to judgment, how would I appear before him ? Why 
do I not occupy myself with the important affairs of eternity, and con- 
tinually elevate my soul to God in prayer ? — Oh ! then, I experience 
distaste and want of fervor ; then, every exertion is too much for me, 
every moment devoted to God, too tedious ! I am willing to spend 
money freely for a worldly object, a fleeting pleasure, but when there 
is question of giving an alms for the glory of God, or his church, — my 
purse is closed at once, and I have not a cent to spare ! 

" I thirst !" — thus our Saviour cries out from the cross ; " I thirst !" 
Thus I exclaim continually ; — but my thirst is not a natural, nor a 



Lenten Sermons. 341 

healthy thirst ; it is the diseased thirst of a fever-stricken man. I 
thirst, — not for God, but for the world ; I thirst, — not for heaven, but 
for earth ; I thirst, and although my Saviour invites me to drink from 
the fountain of living waters, — God himself, — I loathe that pure spring, 
and drink, in preference, from the foul muddy cistern of the world, 
which can hold no pure or wholesome water. 

My Saviour ! I seem to see thee, warm and wearied, sitting by 
Jacob's well ; I seem to hear thee invite the sinful Samaritan woman 
to drink of thy saving waters. Ah ! the same fountain which thou 
offeredst to her is here open to me ! And thy words of sweetness and 
power are still echoing in my ears : " He that shall drink of the water 
that I shall give him shall not thirst forever ! But the water that I shall 
give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto 
everlasting life." (John 4 : 13, 14.) ''Lord give me to drink of this 
water !" cried out the woman at Jacob's well. "Lord !" I exclaim in 
my turn. " thou hast often invited me to partake of this water, but I, 
ungrateful, miserable man that I am, have despised and thrust aside the 
draught that would have brought salvation to my soul ! Ah ! give me 
to drink, and forget my past ingratitude !" 

IV. " I thirst !" exclaims our Saviour on the cross. Can he find no 
one to pity him ? Do none hear his cry ? O Mother Mary ! when thou 
wert flying into Egypt, to protect thy divine Son from the wrath of 
Herod, — after a long search, thou didst find in the desert a fountain, 
whereat thou couldst slake the thirst of the Holy Child ; now, when he 
is in the agony of death, thou canst not procure a single drop to cool his 
parched tongue. Yet, stop ! Near the foot of the cross there stands a 
vessel ; a sponge lies in it ; perhaps, the executioners, who have been 
so cruel to him in life, will, at least, in death, offer him a cooling 
draught ? Alas ! poor Mother, thou seest that the sponge is colored 
with something resembling blood ; the vessel instead of containing 
refreshing water, is full of vinegar and gall. Cruel men were accus- 
tomed to dip the sponge in this mixture, and apply it to the bodies of 
those who were crucified, to prolong their torments, by keeping up 
their vitality. A soldier now seizes the bloody sponge ; he dips it in 
the vinegar, sticks it upon a branch of hyssop, and puts it to the 
Saviour's parched lips. " Hold !" exclaims one of the by-standers, 
"he calls upon Elias ; we shall see whether he will come and help 
him !" 

O, inhuman cruelty 1 O, pitiless executioners ! Does your implaca- 
ble hatred against the Innocent One extend even unto death ? Can 



342 Lenten Sermons. 

you deny to one who is languishing in untold agony, even the paltry 
gratification of a single draught of water ? He cries : " I thirst !" and 
you give him unpalatable vinegar ! And this, too, to him who permits 
his rain to fall upon the just and the unjust, — yea, even upon you, his 
enemies, — to him who protected your fathers when they were fainting 
in the desert, and permitted Moses to strike the rock that they might 
have drink ! Do you thus repay your benefactor for his manifold 
gifts? Woe to you on the day of judgment, for our Lord will then 
exclaim : " I was thirsty and you gave me not to drink ; yes, — instead 
of water, you gave me vinegar and gall ?" 

Yet, why exclaim against the rabble on Calvary ? Let each one 
look to himself, my brethren, — and see whether he has not been guilty 
of the very sin which he condemns in others ! " I thirst !" cries out our 
Lord in the person of your own neglected child : " O father ! O 
mother ! I thirst to know my God and my Saviour !" Do you gratify 
his pious desires ? Do you appease his spiritual thirst ? Do you lead 
him, in his tender childhood, to the fountains of living water, — to 
Catechism, to prayer, to Mass, and to the holy Sacraments ? Do you 
not rather offer him vinegar and gall, instead of pure water ? Do you 
not poison his innocent soul by your bad example, and by the evil prin- 
ciples you instil into his heart ? Do you not, with sacrilegious hand, 
pull down all that the priest and the teachers have laboriously built 
up? 

" I planted thee a chosen vineyard, O Christian soul I But if you 
continue to extend to me the vinegar of unbelief, instead of the wine 
of faith, then I will destroy this vineyard ; I will tear down its fences 
and its wall ; I will change it into a wilderness ; and thorns and thistl'es 
shall grow therein ; and I will command the clouds that they shall no 
more rain down upon it." Has not the Lord already fulfilled his threat ? 
Has he not once before destroyed such a vineyard ? Look at the Holy 
Land, where the Redeemer was born, suffered and died ; in that hal- 
lowed spot, the vineyard of the true Church once flourished gloriously, 
and out of the press of its sweet, abundant grapes, the wine of para- 
dise, the blood of the martyrs, flowed for ages in torrents. But, alas ! 
the birthplace of the world's Redeemer is now a desert waste ; Mahom- 
medanism prevails, and pagan depravity and barbarism reign there, 
undisputed. The vineyard of the Lord is laid waste and destroyed. 
O, let us pray that this may not be our fate ; pray that a like terrible 
destiny may not pursue the nations of Europe, if they continue to loathe 
the pure waters of truth, — if, despising the fountains of our holy Church 
they persist in offering to our thirsting Saviour, the bitter draught of 



Lenten Sermons. 343 

infidelity and contempt ! But, on the other hand, let each one of us, 
my brethren, exclaim from the very depths of a loving and believing 
soul : " As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul 
panteth after thee, my God !" Amen. 



THE SIXTH WORD. 



" It is consummated" John ig : 30. 

It is the ever memorable moment of our Saviour's death ; — the 
ninth hour, or (according to our mode of reckoning time), three 
o'clock in the afternoon. The earth is still covered with the darkness 
which settled down upon it at the sixth hour. It is spread like a 
mourning veil over the vicinity of Jerusalem ; it lies like a dread 
weight upon all creation. Even inanimate nature, the trees, the 
plants, the irrational creatures, seem to feel that the next moment may 
decide their fate ; the leaves hang sorrowfully upon the trees ; the 
flowers close their petals, and bend down their heads ; the wild beasts, 
affrighted, hide themselves in their forest dens, and the birds are 
hushed in their nests — for the Lord of all nature is dying upon the 
cross. The noisy mob on Calvary have also grown still ; the loud 
cries of mockery and scorn have died away ; a silence such as precedes 
a thunder-storm, prevails. O, my soul ! this terrible moment is that 
of my Saviour's death — it is the moment of my redemption ! 

" ft is consummated!" falls from the pale lips of the God-Man, ex- 
piring on the cross. " It is consummated ! " — a short sentence indeed,, 
but an instructive, and important one. We will, in this sixth Lenten 
sermon, learn what it teaches. 

I. u It is consummated!" Yes, my dear Redeemer, all is consum- 
mated ; the prophecies are fulfilled ; the sufferings and labors of thy 
earthly life are over. Past are all the insults and persecutions of thy 
enemies ; gone are thy night-watches, thy wanderings from place to 
place. The cruel blows, the scourging at the pillar, the crowning with 
thorns, are all at an end. The painful journey to Mount Calvary ; 
the torture of the nails, the slow martyrdom upon the wood of the 
cross ; the jibes of thy enemies, thy tormenting thirst ; the agonies of 



344 Lenten Sermons. 

death,— all are over at last ! Thou hast cared for thy only treasure, 
thy tenderly loved Mother ; having intrusted her to the care of thy 
faithful disciple, St. John, thou art done with the world — now, all is 
past — all is consummated ! 

Oh ! how deeply must thy heart have been moved, when, a few days 
ago, thou wentest up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Pasch for the last 
time with thy disciples ! Then, in solemn, prophetic tones, thou saidst 
to them : " Behold, we go up to Jerusalem : and the Son of Man shall 
be betrayed to the chief priests and to the Scribes : and they shall 
condemn him to death." (Matt. 20 : 18.) Oh ! what an ocean of 
sorrow must have inundated thy heart, when, after the Last Supper 
(in company with the chosen three), thou didst go to the Garden of 
Olives, to prepare thyself for the fearful trials of the following day. 
Trembling, thou didst then experience, in anticipation, the sorrows of 
death, — crying out to Peter, James, and John : " My soul is sorrowful 
even unto death .... The spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is 
weak." (Matt. 26 : 38-41.) In thy agony, thou didst pray : " O, my 
Father, if it is possible, let this chalice pass from me ! " — and, so great 
was thy suffering, that the very ground on which thou didst kneel, 
was saturated with the bloody sweat, oozing from every pore of thy 
sacred body. Behold ! all the sorrows and torments of a lingering 
death, which caused thy human spirit to shrink back in horror, are 
now all past — the bitter chalice is drained to the dregs — " it is con- 
summated ! " 

" Father, the hour is come ! " thus thou didst pray before thy 
Passion, for thy Apostles, for us, and for all mankind, — " I have 
glorified thee upon the earth ; I have finished the work which thou 
gavest me to do ; and now glorify thou me, O Father, with thyself, 
with the glory which I had with thee, before the world was." (John 
17 : i> 4, 5-) 

It is the instinct of every riving thing to struggle against death. 
The drowning man instinctively clutches at the slenderest straw, in 
the vain effort to save himself. So long as the heart beats, and the 
eyes remain open, the invalid, the consumptive, yea, the very leper 
whose members are already beginning to corrupt, hopes to the last, 
for cure and deliverance. Even the beast of prey in the forest, the 
spider on the wall, the worm in the dust, all struggle desperately with 
the enemy which seeks their destruction. Death is, indeed, hard and 
bitter, no matter how poor or painful may be the life from which it 
releases us. Death is hard and bitter ; and no one can make a greater 



Lenten Sermons. 345 

sacrifice for another than to die for him. Yet the incarnate Son of 
God has done this ! He has died the lingering death of the cross for 
me, and for my sins ! All is over, — all is consummated ! The redemp- 
tion of our sinful race is accomplished ; heaven and earth are recon- 
ciled ; the gates of Paradise are opened, a new and everlasting cove- 
nant is sealed in the blood of the crucified Redeemer ! 

The Sinless One has been regarded as a criminal, for our sakes ; 
the meek Lamb of God has been treated as a malefactor, esteemed 
even of less worth than the murderer, Barabbas ; but now, sin is 
atoned for, the indictment against Adam, and his guilty descendants, 
lies cancelled at the foot of the cross ; eternal justice is satisfied ; all 
is over, — " it is consummated ! " As the victorious general, after a 
bloody battle, raises the joyous shout of conquest, which all his troops 
thunderingly repeat, so, to-day, resounds the victor's cry from the 
cross : " It is consummated ! " The battle with the prince of dark- 
ness is ended, the victory over sin and death is won ! 

" It is consummated J " Hear it, man, and rejoice ! hear it, ye moun- 
tains, and re-echo the cry, bearing it on to the ends of the earth ; hear 
it, ye fallen Angels — hear it, hell, and tremble ; for it is a cry of horror 
for you ! Hear it, ye souls of the just in Limbo, — it declares that the 
moment is at hand when the King of Glory will open the doors of 
your prison, and lead you into his kingdom ! Hear it, also, ye blessed 
Spirits of heaven, for soon will you see your Lord seated again on that 
throne of glory, which he quitted for our sakes, — soon will the celestial 
halls resound with the canticles of innumerable Saints, begotten of the 
blood of the Redeemer, even as golden sheaves spring from the fruit- 
ful seed of wheat. The Cherub, who stands at the gate of Paradise, 
hearing this cry, sheathes his flaming sword, and hastens to rejoin the 
hosts of Angels, who rejoicing, array themselves to receive their return- 
ing Lord. Thanks, heart-felt thanks to thee, my dying Saviour, for 
delivering us from the bonds of darkness and the chains of hell, with 
that victorious cry : " It is consummated ! " 

II. " It is consummated ! " Our Lord Jesus Christ has consummated 
the redemption of a guilty world ; but, is it completed, also, in my 
miserable soul ? He has died for me — he has offered me his grace, — 
have I profited by it ? He has stretched out his hand to me ; have I 
grasped it ? He has shown me the way of the cross ; he has invited 
me to follow him therein, — have I done so, up to the present time ? 
Oh ! with shame and confusion I must accuse myself, I must confess 
my indifference,_my disobedience, my indolence. I have rejected the 



346 Lenten Sermons. 

food of life ; I have despised the Source of salvation. It was merci- 
fully given me to choose between life and death, between fire and 
water, and I, (fool that I was !) — chose death rather than life, fire 
rather than water ; and only now begin to recognize my terrible mis- 
take ! 

"// is consummated!" The grand mystery of Redemption is 
accomplished. But, for you, infatuated sinner ! ill advised son ! 
foolish daughter ! careless parent ! it is not yet completed. It is not 
yet accomplished for you, ye proud, envious, intemperate, impure sin- 
ners, — for you, unjust ones, — for you, usurers, who oppress your 
poor, suffering brethren, and who even take the last, hard earned 
penny from the desolate widow. Oh ! how will you answer for all 
these crimes in the Day of Judgment ? Shuddering, you will hear 
the solemn voice of the Judge, bearing witness : " As Judas betrayed 
me, as the Jews crucified me, so have you also betrayed and crucified 
me by your evil deeds. How often would I have covered you with 
the wings of my mercy, — how often would I have gathered you, as a 
hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but, alas ! you would not. 
You have despised my grace and my redemption ; receive now, the 
reward of your iniquities ! " 

Ah ! if we were not wanting in good-will, we might all exclaim with 
regard to our salvation : "It is consummated !" There are three hun- 
dred and sixty-five days in a year ; consider, then, my brethren, — if 
you would but daily strive to become better, — what a rich profit would 
be yours in a single year ! If you succeed in eradicating only one bad 
habit each year, what a perfect Christian would you not be at the end 
of ten, twenty or thirty years of life ? 

III. "It is consummated J" Words of solemn warning, full either of 
terror or of consolation at the hour of death ! O poor, dying beggar, 
why do you tremble and grieve ? O rich nobleman, why are you proud 
and overbearing ? Behold ! death levels all distinctions ; those who in 
life were so widely separated, now slumber peacefully, side by side. 
When Elizabeth, the mighty queen of England, was in the zenith of 
her power, she exclaimed : "Give me forty years to reign and I renounce 
heaven !" but when she felt her end approaching, she cried out in terror, 
"Alas ! I would give all my treasures for another hour of life!" Then, 
turning away her face, she expired. 

"// is consummated ! " This is the exclamation of the just man upon 
his death-bed. He looks back upon his vanished years ; he recalls the 



Lenten Sermons. 347 

trials which he has endured, the temptations he has overcome, the 
sufferings he has borne. He does not reckon now the tears which 
he has wept in the past, for he is about to enter into that happy Land 
where God shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of his elect. The 
sorrowful winter of life is over, an eternal spring approaches, enlivened 
by every celestial delight. All is consummated ! 

How dreadful are these words in the mouth of the dying, impenitent 
sinner ! "It is consummated /" Yes, a life of crime and scandal is 
completed ; but the work of salvation remains unfinished. The miser- 
able, corruptible body has been royally pampered ; but the soul, which 
should have been nourished by divine grace, has been starved and 
neglected. The unhappy wretch has taken every care to accumulate 
temporal goods by fair means or foul ; but he has not lifted a finger to 
acquire the priceless treasures of eternal life. Now, with unavailing 
remorse, he looks back upon his past life ; upon the long catalogue of 
his crimes : — but, alas! it is too late! In a few moments, all will be 
over ; the life of the body will soon be finished, but the eternal misery 
of the soul will have only just begun ! 

On a cold New Year's Eve, a certain man stood at the window of his 
chamber, watching the snow flakes falling thickly upon the earth. His 
heart was as cold and desolate as the wintry prospect before him. His 
past life was full of transgressions of every kind ; and now, old age has 
come upon him, and his hair is as white as the falling snow. The worm 
of remorse gnaws at his heart. "O, would I were a child again !" he 
sighs, "how much better and more wisely would I employ my time ! 
How courageously would I walk forward in the path of truth and good- 
ness ! But now, it is too late ! I see only an open grave before me, 
which will soon receive my guilty body. Oh ! return, golden youth, 
return !" And behold ! as he spoke the words, he awoke, and found 
it was all a dream, and that he was still a young man in the fullness of 
health and strength. But he had not received the warning in vain ; he 
entered into himself, and became, thenceforth, an honest, upright man. 

Take this admonition to heart : perhaps there is yet time for reform- 
ation. Abandon, at once, your past life of sin. Repent, — and God 
will pardon your offences ; and when the night of death settles down 
upon you, you will not be forced to cry out, with the impenitent sinner, 
"Too late ! too late ! my life is finished ; but now my misery is only at 
its commencement! " 

If thoughtless souls would only reflect more frequently upon the end 
of all things ; upon the consequences of one's actions, and upon that 



:34-8 Lenten Sermons. 

supreme moment of death, when all men will be forced to exclaim: 
" It is consummated /" — oh! from how many sins would they not be 
preserved ! "In all thy works, remember thy last end : and thou shalt 
never sin." (Eccles. 7 : 40.) If the gambler, the spendthrift, the 
drunkard, would consider that their bad habits sink them in ruin and 
beggary ; if the liar would reflect that his sins will draw down upon 
him shame and contempt ; if the profligate would remember that he is 
destroying both soul and body by his lusts ; if the thief and the mur- 
derer would call to mind that their crimes will bring them to prison, 
and, at last, to the gallows — certainly, they would shrink back in terror, 
before committing the first offence. 

IV. "It is consum7nated 7" Listen to these words, O man ! when the 
desire of unjustly possessing your neighbor's goods arises secretly 
within you. Listen to them, you who keep company with a person 
who is dangerous to your virtue and morality ; listen to them, you who 
go with companions to places which will cause your ruin : listen to 
them, and struggle to overcome yourself. By the grace of God, you 
will certainly come off the victor in the strife : and then you may joy- 
fully exclaim : " The battle is ended, the evil desires are conquered, 
the victory is, at last, consummated !" 

" It is consummated /" Let the Christian husband, who lives in dis- 
content with his wife, — the rebellious wife, who has contracted an 
unhappy marriage, — listen to these words. Though the companion of 
his life be fretful, bad tempered, quarrelsome, the man must not for- 
sake his home for the tavern, nor waste his substance in extravagance or 
dissipation. He must be patient with his unhappy partner — a kind, 
devoted father to his peevish children, remembering that the hour 
will soon come when he can exclaim : " The trials of my life are past. 
1 'It is consummated /' '' And even though the wife should be aware 
that her spouse has broken his solemn vow of fidelity, let her persevere 
to the end. Honestly fulfilling all her duties as a good wife and 
mother, at last, she also may be able to apply to herself the words of 
our dying Saviour upon the cross : " Now, all is consummated !" 



Lenten Sermons. 349 



THE SEVENTH WORD. 



" Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." Luke 23 : 46. 

We are led, to-day, for the last time, to the cross upon Golgotha, 
at the moment when our Redeemer, freed from his agony, bows down 
his head and dies. O Cross of Christ ! to-day, we celebrate thy 
glorious victory over sin and Satan ; and to thee millions and millions 
of believing Christians now raise their eyes with pious confidence, 
whilst the priest chants : " Ecce lignum crucis ! — behold the wood of 
the cross, on which hung the salvation of the world !" 

My brethren, when a beloved relative, or friend, lies in the agony 
of death, with what eagerness, with what anxious solicitude, do we not 
apply the ear to the mouth of the dying person, in order to catch the 
final words, the last request ! That child must be, indeed, ungrateful 
of heart, who does not treasure and venerate the farewell words of his 
dying father or mother. 

It is Good Friday ; and we, too, are standing at the death-bed of a 
Father. His couch, — alas ! is hard and comfortless, — it is the cross ; 
the Father who breathes away his life thereon, is the common Father 
of all — our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Behold! he opens his 
mouth, he speaks his final words ! Attend to them, as they resound 
loudly throughout the universe : "Father, into thy hands I commend my 
spirit ! " 

I. "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit ! " The final moment of 
our divine Lord's agony has arrived. The three long hours of torture 
upon the cross have been endured, with perfect patience and conscious- 
ness. He has pardoned his enemies, and promised paradise to the 
penitent thief ; he has provided for his mother with filial affection, and 
expressed his thirst for our salvation ; now all is consummated ; and 
since there is nothing left to him except his spirit, this, too, he, at 
length, resigns to his Eternal Father. " Father," he exclaims, " into 
thy hands I commend my spirit." Oh ! this is not the low sigh of a 
dying man. No — it is the clear, powerful cry of the Sovereign Lord 
and Master who controls life and death, and who willingly and joyfully 



350 Lenten Sermons. 

sacrifices himself for a sin-laden world. When our Saviour had drained 
the bitter chalice of suffering almost to the dregs, when his agony had 
reached its highest degree, and he hung upon the cross comfortless 
and desolate, he had exclaimed sorrowfully : " My God ! my God ! 
why hast thou forsaken me ?" But now, — now he does not cry out •: 
"My God!" No, he says, "Father /" for he is no longer the repre- 
sentative of sinners, using the language of a servant ; he now speaks 
as the Eternal Son to the Eternal Father, as a loving child to a for- 
giving, reconciled parent. " Father," he would say, " behold, I have 
completed the work of redemption that you laid upon me ; I have 
nothing more to give, by which I can prove my love and obedience to 
you, but my spirit ; accept it, then ; and, after three days, it shall be 
reunited with my glorified, risen body." 

II. "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit ! " Thus spoke, at the 
end, the expiring Saviour ; but in those words, he did not merely com- 
mend himself,— but me, and you, and all of us, — to his Eternal Father. 
After the Last Supper, before entering with his Apostles into the 
Garden of Olives (to gain there, in prayer, the requisite strength and 
solace to meet the sufferings of the following day), the High Priest of 
the New Law prayed thus : " Holy Father, keep them in thy name 
whom thou hast given me, preserve them from evil ; but not for them 
only do I pray, but for those also who through their word shall be- 
lieve in me." (John 17:11, 20.) As he prayed in that solemn hour, so f 
now, in the still more solemn hour of death, he exclaims : " Father, 
into thy hands I commend my spirit, — and with it I commend to thee 
all my brethren, the children of men. To thy mercy, I commend the 
sinner ; to thy grace and pardon, I recommend the unbeliever ; to thy 
power, I commend those who are weak and frail in faith and good 
works ; to thy consolation, I commend thy sick and suffering ones ; to 
thy protection, I commend all— both the living and the dead ! " 

III. " Father 3 into thy hands I commend my spirit /" When David 
fled before King Saul, and was obliged to hide in the mountains of 
Juda, dangers and death surrounded him; but he exclaimed confidently: 
" He who dwelleth under the shadow of the Almighty is secure and 
has nothing to fear." Yes, if God is with us, my brethren, who can be 
against us ? " Into thy hands, O, Father," each one of us must, there- 
fore say, " I commend my body and my life ; I place myself under thy 
protection. Guide thou my going forth and my coming in ; so that I 
depart not from the right path. Place thyself as a guard upon my 
tongue, and over all my words and actions, that all may be directed 
to thee, O my God ! " ' 



Lenten Sermons. 351 

When your son, O Christian parents, goes abroad for the first time, 
into the great world, to seek his daily bread ; when you lay your hand 
in blessing upon his head, and sorrowfully sigh "Farewell ! " — tell me, 
to whom can you recommend him with greater confidence than to the 
protection of his heavenly Father, the omnipotent, the omnipresent 
God ? And you, O wife, when your husband leaves home daily to 
earn a living for you and your children (perhaps at the risk of his 
own life), to whom, I ask, can you better intrust him than to the care 
of him without whose permission not a hair falls from your head, nor 
a single leaf drops from the tree of the forest ? When heart and 
courage are sinking, who will support you — who will raise you up, if 
it be not the Lord, the Mighty One ? And O, when you lie, pale and 
helpless upon your death-bed — what more beautiful last words can you 
then pronounce than those of your dying Saviour upon the cross : 
" Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit ! " — ? 

Well for you, my brethren, if you can also cry out at that supreme 
moment : " Behold, O Father, I return to thee my soul, pure and spot- 
less as thou didst give it to me in Baptism ! " Well for you, if you can 
say with the faithful servant : " Lord, thou deliveredst to me five tal- 
ents, — behold, I have gained other five, over and above." But still 
better for you, if it is granted you to hear this reply : " Well done, 
good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few 
things, I will set thee over many things ; enter thou into the joy of 
thy Lord." (Matth. 25.) Woe to you, on the other hand, if you must 
then confess with the slothful servant : " Alas ! O Lord, I have not 
employed the talent that thou gavest me ; I have buried it instead of 
returning it to thee with interest." Woe to you, if these terrible words 
are then addressed to you : " Take ye away, therefore, the talent from 
him, and cast him into the exterior darkness. There shall be weeping 
and gnashing of teeth." "If I had two souls," St. Augustine used to 
say, " O, my God ! I might risk one of them in play ; but as I have 
only one, I must work out my salvation with fear and trembling, that 
I may not lose it." 

IV. "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit ! " Alas ! these are 
the last, last words of our beloved, dying Lord ! Behold, how his 
blessed eyes become dim and glazed ; his face is overspread with the 
hue of death, — he inclines his head, — he breathes for the last time — he 
has given up the ghost ! 

It is all over ! The awful tragedy has drawn to a close ! The murder 
of the God-Man has been consummated ! The servant has killed his 



35 2 Lenten Sermons. 

Master, — the creature, his Creator and Redeemer ! The divine Heart 
that always beat with love for us, is stilled in death ; the sacred lips,, 
that breathed naught save words of consolation, are now cold and 
pallid ; the beautiful eyes, that always beamed with love and meek- 
ness, are now dim and sightless ; those hands, that loaded men with 
blessings and benefits, — those feet, which hastened, untiringly, from 
place to place, seeking the lost sheep of his fold, are now cold and stiff 
in death. But thy head, O Lord Jesus ! is still inclined towards those 
whom thou hast redeemed ) thy arms are extended, in order to em- 
brace us, thy children, with tender love ; only a few hours more, and 
thy sacred Heart will be pierced through with a lance, in order that 
my soul may hide there from the enemies of its salvation ! 

" O, Christian! what have I done to thee ?" thus our Saviour mourn- 
fully addresses you. " Scarcely were you born, when I clothed your 
soul with the pure robe of Baptism ; and when you had stained that 
white robe by willful sin, I washed it clean with my blood. I have 
planted you like a beautiful vineyard, but you brought forth nothing 
but weeds. You returned my love with hatred, my benefits with 
ingratitude! ' My son, my daughter, what have I done to thee? why 
art thou troubled ? What is there that I could have done for thee, that 
I have not done ? Answer me !' " 

"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit ! " Hark ! the universe 
rings with that awful cry. The foundations of the earth tremble ; the 
palaces of Jerusalem are shaken ; the strongest walls fall ; rocks are 
rent ; graves open, the dead come forth, and walk through the city, 
pointing with menacing fingers towards Golgotha, the dread theatre of 
a most horrible crime ! In the temple of Jerusalem, they have just 
sacrificed the Paschal Lamb ; when lo ! the grand, costly veil before 
the Holy of Holies is rent in twain — a miraculous testimony that the 
wall of separation between heaven and earth has fallen — that the Old 
Dispensation has ceased forever, and the New Covenant concluded 
and sealed by the blood of the slaughtered Lamb of God ! The sun, 
which has been concealed by thick clouds and darkness for the past 
three hours, comes forth, and illumines with its yellow light the hill of 
Calvary, revealing there the Cross, which still bears the lifeless body of 
the Lord Jesus. It sheds its beams upon the Sorrowful Mother of 
God, who uplifts her longing arms, as though she would fain snatch 
her divine Son down from his cruel bed, and clasp him closely to her 
maternal bosom. It shines also upon the faithful John, prostrate beneath 
the cross in an agony of grief ; upon the wretched rabble, standing 
about dumb and anxious ; upon the Roman centurion, who strikes his 



Lenten Sermons. 353 

breast, exclaiming vehemently : " Verily, this is the Son of God !" 
Then, timidly and sadly, the multitude gradually dispense, whilst the 
dark clouds of night overspread the sky. Once more, it is lonely and 
deserted on Golgotha ; only the three crosses tower up gloomily against 
the horizon, bearing upon them the white corpses of the condemned ! 

V. My hearers ! we, too, have reached the conclusion of our Lenten 
meditations ; we, too, are about to quit, with the sorrowful crowd, 
the lonely mountain top, — leaving behind us the awful vision of the 
Crucified One ; but I cannot suffer you to depart from this sacred 
spot, without holding before you, once again, that mirror of Calvary, 
— the crucifix. But a few hours more, and the solemn season of Lent, 
the time of penance, of serious thought, will be at an end. You will 
soon return to your ordinary occupations, your absorbing business 
cares ; the world, with all its turmoil and strife, will surround you. Do 
not forget, I implore you, the holy impression of the past six weeks. 
Do not forget the sacred meditations made here, in God's blessed 
House, — the Seven Last Words of our dying Saviour upon the cross. 
Make, to-day, your practical resolutions for the future. You, who 
have enmity and revenge in your hearts, who cannot and will not for- 
give and forget, listen to our Saviour : "Father, forgive them; for they 
know not what they do." You, who have repented of your sins, and 
have confessed them, or intend doing so during the Paschal season, 
hearken to the Second Word of our Lord, — " Amen I say unto thee, this 
day thou shall be with me in paradise /" You, parents, you, children, 
who discharge your relative duties slothfully and negligently, learn 
from the Third Word, your obligations: "Mother ! behold thy son . . . 
Son! behold thy mother!" All ye afflicted ones, who suffer tribula- 
tions of any sort, and who are inclined to despair, — remembering 
that your Saviour has endured far more than you — listen to his Fourth 
Word: "My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?" "O, 
dissolute man, gambler, drunkard, spendthrift ! learn economy, tem- 
perance, abstemiousness, from your Saviour's Fifth Word : " I 
thirst!" You, whose will is so weak in good, so strong in evil, — 
who find it so difficult to persevere in virtue's path, — continue faithful 
to the end, the final victory awaits you, for your Saviour, in his Sixth 
Word says: " // is consummated!" And you, O Christians ! young 
and old, learn to live piously, learn to die as Jesus Christ died, saying 
with him: " Father into thy hands I commend my spirit ! " 

My dearly beloved ! do not depart from Golgotha, do not quit the 
foot of the cross, with Magdalene, without having learned, like her, 
how intensely our Saviour has loved you, and how diligently you 



354 Lenten Sermons. 

should return love for love. Do not go away without remembering 
that it was our sins that fastened him to the wood of the cross ; and 
whenever you gaze upon the crucifix, hanging upon the wall of your 
room, recall all that your Saviour has done and suffered for your sal- 
vation ; as often as you see a cross in a church, or elsewhere, reflect 
upon the Seven Last Words of your expiring Redeemer, and endeavor 
to reduce their precepts to practice in your daily life. 

A few hours more, and the Easter-bell will resound over mountain 
and valley, fields and forests ! The joyful Alleluia will announce the 
risen Saviour. May it be, indeed, a blessed Alleluia^ to you — the sig- 
nal for your own glad resurrection from the sleep of sin, from the 
gloomy grave of spiritual death ! 



QUESTIONS OF THE SOUL 



NINTH COURSE. 



SEVEN SERMONS. 



First Friday in Lent. 357 

LENTEN SERMONS. 



FIRST FRIDAY IN LENT. 



I. WHAT HAVE Y(XJ DONE? 

t< How canst thou say: I am not polluted? See thy ways, know what thou 
hast done; as a swift runner pursuing his course." Jer. 2: 23. 

According to the intention of the Church, my dear brethren, we should 
employ this holy season of Lent in weeping over and doing penance for 
our sins. But are we sinners, indeed? Ask the prophet Jeremiah, and 
listen humbly to the scathing reproach of his reply: "How canst thou say: 
1 am not polluted? See thy ways, know what thou hast done; as a swift 
runner pursuing his course." Ask the Apostle St. John, and he, too, will 
tell you: "If we say, that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the 
truth is not in us." 1. John 1: 8. In fine, my dear brethren, ask your own 
consciences, look at the record of your lives, — how polluted are both, and 
what a dark vision of sin stares you in the face ! Are you going to continue 
your criminal and sinful career ? Are you not resolved to relinquish your 
bad habits, to restrain your unruly passions, to avoid the occasions of sin, 
and to make good use of the means of grace for the amendment of your 
lives ? O, how sad and deplorable will be the consequences, if you do not 
adopt the latter salutary course ! Everything in this holy season urges you 
to do penance, and ' ' we, helping, do exhort you " to make this holy 
resolution, and by putting it at once into execution, to bring forth fruits 
worthy of penance. To this end, I shall speak to you, my dear brethren, 
in these, my instructions for the Fridays of Lent, on the sinners' return 
io God. 

The subject of my first discourse, (which I shall deliver briefly to you 
to-day,) is the question: "What hast thou done?" And in answer to that 
important question, I will proceed to show that you have 

I. Forsaken your God, and 
II. Offended your God. 

I. In the Sacred Scriptures we find it recorded of the sinner, numberless 
times, that he has forsaken his God. "The beloved forsook God who 
made him, and departed from God, his Saviour." Deut. 32: 15. And 
again: "Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a wicked 
seed, ungracious children : they have forsaken God, they have blasphemed 



35# First Friday in Lent. 

the Holy One of Israel, they have gone away backwards." Is. i: 8. And 
in the prophet Osee, we read : ' ' They have forsaken the Lord in not obey- 
ing the law." Osee 4: 10. This forsaking God, means that the sinner turns 
away from God and walks in other paths than those prescribed by his 
divine law. Does that signify anything ? Is it, dear friends, a matter of 
little or great importance? Listen and you shall hear. You have forsaken 
your God, 

1. To whom you are bound by so many ties. Know, that a sacred, three- 
fold bond unites man with his God. 

a) The bond of Creation. "Let us make man to our image and like- 
ness. . . . And God created him to his own image, and to the image of 
God he created him." Gen. 1: 26, 27. "The spirit of God made me, and 
the breath of the Almighty gave me life." Job 33: 4. God is your Creator, 
and you are his creature, the work of his hands. The book is the property 
of the man who writes it; the picture is the property of the artist who paints 
it; the marble image is the property of the sculptor who chisels it, — so, in 
a much higher and more binding sense, you are the property of God who 
has made you. What a holy bond between him and you, — and, yet, you 
have broken this bond by your sins, you have forsaken your God ! 

b) The bond of Redemption. ' ' There is one God, and one Mediator 
of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: who gave himself a redemption 
for all." 1. Tim. 2: 5. "Blotting out the hand-writing of the decree which 
was against us; and the same he took out of the way fastening it to the 
Cross." Col. 2: 14. God is your Redeemer, and you are his redeemed 
ones, bought not with gold, or silver, or precious stones, but with the 
adorable Blood shed, (yea, even to its last drop,) from the veins of the 
only begotten Son of the Eternal Father. What a holy bond between him 
and you; and, yet, you have sundered this bond by your iniquities, — you 
have forsaken your God ! 

c) The bond of sanctification. "You are washed, you are sanctified,, 
you are justified, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the spirit of 
our God." 1. Cor. 6: 11. "By the justice of one, unto all men unto 
justification of life." Rom. 5: 18. God, your Sanctifier and you the 
sanctified; the breath of his infinite wisdom and holiness breathing con- 
tinually the most precious inspirations and graces into your souls ! What 
a holy bond! And, yet, you have torn apart this blessed bond, — you 
have forsaken your God. Will you, then, be able to say: "Of what con- 
sequence is sin ? " O, how holy the bonds that unite you with your God I 
The ties which unite you to a friend, to your child, to your wife, husband, 
father, or mother are not so holy as these celestial ties, — yet, you would 
hesitate to break friendship with those dear ones whom you so tenderly 
love. And this God, to whom you are bound by divine bonds, — you nave 
forsaken him, — you have despised his love, and turned your back upon his 



First Friday in Lent. 359 

laws. Is not sin something awful, if considered in this light alone ? . . . 
But it has a worse aspect still. You have forsaken 

2. The God to whom you have promised fidelity. 

a) In holy Baptism. At the sacred baptismal font, my dear brethren, 
you promised before heaven and earth that you would never forsake your 
God during your whole future life. It is true, you may not have made 
this promise with your own tongue, with your own conscious will, but by 
the lips of your sponsor, who held you, a little speechless baby, at the font; 
nevertheless, the promise binds you just as strongly as if you had raised 
your hand to bear witness to the solemn oath. "The baptismal vows are 
inviolable, and though all other vows may be remitted, no one, either in 
heaven or upon earth, can loose and free a soul from its baptismal vows. " 
St. Aug. Epist. 116. 

b) At your first Communion. In that holy hour you ratified your bap- 
tismal vows. Think of that blissful moment when you were united for 
the first time, to the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ ! In glowing love and innocence, you knelt at the foot 
of the altar, and promised to God and all the Saints, before the whole 
congregation whom you called upon as witnesses of your vows, that you 
would renounce the devil with all his works, the world with all its pomps, 
the flesh with all its temptations, and that you would remain faithful to 
God all the days of your life, allowing nothing to separate you from the 
love of Christ. 

c) On ??iany other subsequent occasions. You had heard, perhaps, a 
touching sermon; — you were saved from some great calamity; — you had 
received, perchance, some great and special benefit from God; — you were 
enlightened in prayer, you confessed and received Communion with un- 
usually fervent dispositions. On all these occasions, you renewed that 
first holy bond of love with your God, you made the earnest resolution to 
give your hearts entirely to him; thenceforth, to love him sincerely and to 
serve him faithfully. Is it not so, my brethren ? 

And what have you done? Alas ! I repeat the painful question. What 
have you done? Notwithstanding, your solemn promises, vows, and 
oaths, you have forsaken God; yes, you have forsaken him repeatedly and 
wilfully, by drunkenness, enmity, hatred, pride, impurity. And is this a 
matter of little or no importance ? Is it a small thing for a soldier to for- 
sake the banner of his country to which he has vowed loyalty and alle- 
giance ? Is it a trifling thing for a married person to dishonor and violate 
the bonds of matrimony which he solemnly promised to keep inviolate 
unto death? God bitterly complains of man, because he, thus, forsakes 
his Creator and Redeemer. "Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this; and ye 
gates thereof, be very desolate, saith the Lord. For, my people have done 
two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have 



360 First Friday in Lent. 

digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. " 
Jer. 2: 12, 13. 

II. What have you done? You have not only offended your Creator, 
your Redeemer, but, also, your Preserver and your Sanctifier. "You have 
grieved the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed unto the day of 
redemption." Ephes. 4: 30. Sin is truly an offence against God; not as if 
God thereby felt or experienced pain, but, because sin is a contempt of 
God, a rejection of his sacred law, a rebellion against his adorable wilL 
Hence, sin is also called enmity against God, as the Apostle says: "The 
wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to God." Rom. 8: 7. Moreover, it is a 
sacrilegious renewal of the crucifixion of Christ. "Crucifying again to 
themselves the son of God, and making a mockery of him." Heb. 6: 6. 
What have you done ? You have offended God, yes 

1. Four great "God. The offence is aggravated by the dignity of the 
person offended. What a difference, my brethren, between an insult 
offered to a servant or one cast in the face of a king ! The sinner offends 
a great God: 

a) Great in power and majesty. "Thine are riches, and thine is glory, 
thou hast dominion over alt, in thy hand is power and might, in thy hand 
greatness, and the empire of all things." 1. Paralip. 29: 12. "Who 
shaketh the earth of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble." Job 9: 6. 
' ' Who shall resist the strength of thy arm ? " Wisd. 9:6. " No word shall 
be impossible with God." Luke 1: 37. To be brief, dear friends, all the 
greatness and power ol earthly potentates and princes are limited and 
finite, — God, alone, is infinite power and majesty. — He, alone, is: 

b) Great in glory. "The Lord shall sit king forever." Ps. 28: 10. 
"His name, alone, is exalted." Ps. 148: 13. "There is none like to thee, 
O Lord, thou art great, and great is thy name in might." Jer. 10: 6. 
"King of kings, and Lord of lords." 1. Tim. 6: 15. — This God, great in 
power and majesty, and great in glory, before whom the pillars of heaven 
tremble, to whom heaven and earth are subject, and whom the Angels 
adore with hidden faces, — you, a poor miserable worm of the earth have 
offended. 

2. Your good God, The insult is aggravated by the base ingratitude 
of the offender. If it be a cruel act to insult a stranger from whom you 
have never received a kindness or benefit of any sort, what can you say, 
my brethren, of a child, who strikes his father or his mother? And you 
have offended this infinitely good God, who is: 

a) So good towards all creatures. "Thou, O Lord, art sweet and 
mild." Ps. 85: 5. God wills the true happiness of all his creatures, and' 
promotes their welfare in every possible way He gives splendor to trie 



First Friday in Lent. 361 

sun, light to the moon and to the stars, color to the flowers, and a garment 
of soft feathers to the birds. "Thou openest thy hand and fillest with 
blessing every living creature. " Ps. 144: 16. 

b. So good towards you in particular. ' ' What hast thou, that thou 
hast not received?" 1. Cor. 4: 7. Consider the wonderful and delicate 
mechanism of your body, — the immortal essence and beautiful powers of 
your soul; look back with tears of gratitude upon your past life, from the 
first moment of your existence to this present hour. Consider all that you 
have lived through; weigh seriously and carefully every inspiration, 
every blessing, every signal mercy he has showered upon you, and 
you will find that God has overwhelmed you with benefits without 
measure, without number; benefits, both spiritual and temporal, of which 
you were wholly undeserving, and which you valued or appreciated so 
little that you scarcely thought it worth your while to thank your great 
Benefactor for his gifts and graces. Like a father, he has carried you in 
his arms; like a mother, he has poured out his love upon you. "What is 
there, that I ought to do more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it ? " 
Is. 5:4. And what have you done in return? 

You have offended this great, this good God, by every sin you have com- 
mitted; by your pride, your anger, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. You 
have offended him not once and slightly, but grievously, and innumerable 
times. Look well, my brethren, into your life, into your thoughts, words 
and actions. O, what a horrid vision of sin stares you in the face ! Are 
you not forced to cry out with the royal prophet: "My iniquities are gone 
over my head, and as a heavy burden are become heavy upon me." Ps. 37: 5. 
What have you done? O, let not this thought depart from your mind, 
though it should pierce your heart like a two-edged sword, though it should 
burn in its depths like coals of living fire,— cast not away this salutary 
thought, dear friends, till it effects, by the grace of God, a thorough and 
lasting conversion; till it leaves you, at length, firmly resolved to return to 
your God during this holy season of Lent, and to continue to do penance 
for your past ingratitude and sin, during all the coming days of your life. 
Amen. 



362 Second Friday in Lent. 



SECOND FRIDAY IN LENT. 



II. WHAT AWAITS YOU? 



ti Ii is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." 
Hebr. 10: 31. 

Have you heard, my dear brethren, these words of the Apostle: "It is a 
dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God ? " Ponder upon 
them with me, to-day, I implore you, for ' ' his wrath no man can resist, "" 
Job 9:13; and the arrows of his vengeance destroy all against whom they 
are directed. But who, (you ask,) will fall into the hands of the living 
God ? He who departs this life in the state of mortal sin. O what a great 
evil is sin ! Its black deformity was clearly set before you in my last dis- 
course. I hope, then, you have complied with my request, and (never 
suffering those salutary thoughts to depart from your memories, ) that you 
have pondered seriously upon the important subject. What have you 
done ? You have forsaken your God, your loving and powerful Creator, 
to whom so many and such holy bonds bind you, and to whom you have 

so often vowed fidelity What have you done? You have offended 

your God, your wise and amiable Redeemer who shed the last drop of his 
blood for you upon the cruel cross. You have sinned against the Holy 
Spirit, the great and good God, whp has loaded you with inspirations and 
graces. . . . And now what awaits you in punishment of your infidelity, 
your disobedience, your malice? Think well on it, before it be too late. 
God must punish you; he is bound by his eternal Law to render to every 
man according to the works which he has done in the flesh, whether good 
or evil. What, then, awaits you for your sinful works ? 

I. The judgment of an angry God, 
IT. The hell of an avenging God. 

The Eternal Lord and Law-giver will, nay, must enter into judgment 
with his offending creature. His outraged mercy demands the arraignment 
of the criminal at the bar of his infinite justice. Behold, then, O sinner, 
what awaits you: The judgment of an angry God. But what kind of a 
judgment is this? A judgment so terrible that its horrors, my brethren, 
are far beyond and above all human conception. 



Second Friday in Lent. 363 

a) It is the judgment of an infinitely holy God. The Seraphim cried 
one to another, and said: "Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all 
the earth is full of his glory." Is. 6: 3. Being a God of infinite purity and 
holiness, he detests every sin in his innermost essence, and with an ever- 
lasting hatred: "Thou art not a God that wiliest iniquity, neither shall the 
wicked dwell near thee; nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes. Thou 
hatest all the workers of iniquity; thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. 
The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor. " Ps. 5 : 5-7. And 
you, O sinner, standing in judgment before this holy God, — what shall he 
see in your heart, in your life? Alas! how many stains, and spots, and 
indelible brands of hell ! He sees your injustices, your adulteries, your 
drunkenness, your mortal sins against Charity, your sacrilegious Com- 
munions. The infinitely holy God sees all the crimes which you have 
committed from the dawn of reason up to this very hour. His angry gaze 
restsuponyou, — you aredoomed already to hell; the sentence is pronounced; 
you are, as it were, on your way to the place of execution, — the mercy of 
God, alone, stays for a little while the descending sword of his avenging 
justice. He can destroy you, body and soul, at any moment. Can you, 
then, be so careless, so indifferent, in the face of such momentous risks ? 

b. An omniscient God will judge you. Before an earthly judge you 
may sometimes succeed in concealing certain damaging circumstances, — 
and what you cannot conceal you may be able to palliate or excuse. But 
this, my brethren, is not possible before the all-knowing Judge. "Man 
seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart. " 
(1. Kings, 16: 7.) Yes, God beholds the heart, and he beholds it with the 
eyes of a God. "The eyes of the Lord are brighter than the sun, behold- 
ing round about all the ways of men, and the bottom of the deep, and 
looking into the hearts of men, into the most hidden parts. " (Eccl. 2y. 28.) 
And you, sinner, are in judgment before this omniscient God ! His eye 
penetrates the most secret folds, the inmost recesses of your soul. All those 
bad thoughts and sinful actions which you have concealed from every 
human eye, all those corrupt desires which you have buried in the depths 
of your own bosom, are open and manifest before him, as though they were 
written on the unclouded sky with the beams of the meridian sun. How 
infinite, then, must be your shame and confusion before him ! 

c) An inexorable God will judge you. The time of mercy is passed, 
the measure of grace is exhausted to its dregs. Hence, God is inexorable 
in his vengeance. "You shall seek me, and shall not find me." John 7: 34. 
And you, O sinner, are in judgment before this inexorable Judge ! Alas ! 
what must be the feelings of a criminal when, in answer to his last petition for 
pardon, the terrible reply is given: "There is no pardon but with God !" 
Who will be able to describe the emotions of the weeping sinner, before 



364 Second Friday in Lent. 

the throne of God, when he clasps his hands in anguish and with torrents 
•of tears implores mercy, — but obtains no mercy! O, how dreadful, dear 
Christians, is the judgment of an enraged God ! Add to this, yet another 
circumstance which draws down more heavily still the fatal scales of divine 
justice. 

2. The judgment of that hour is forever decisive and irrevocable. 
Whatever sentence the eternal Judge pronounces upon the offender remains 
pronounced for all eternity. From his sentence there is 

a) No appeal. Here upon earth, a criminal may protest against the 
sentence pronounced upon him, and appeal to a higher court. It is only 
when the Supreme Court of the land has spoken, that no further appeal is 
possible. ... It is very different, my brethren, in the Court of divine 
justice. There speaks the King of kings, (1. Tim. 6: 15); there speaks one 
most high, Creator Almighty, a powerful king, and greatly to be feared, 
who sitteth upon his throne. (Eccles 1 : 8. ) It is the Supreme Court of 
heaven that decides, and from its verdict there is no appeal. And as from 
the sentence of that divine Judge there is no appeal, so in the sentence 
itself there is 

b) No change, no shadow of alteration. God judges, and his judg- 
ment becomes an eternal one. "The counsel of the Lord standeth for 
ever."'' Ps. 32: 11. "The will of the Lord shall stand firm." Prov. 19: 21. 
Therefore, there can be no alteration of the sentence. Let the victim of 
divine justice suffer the most intense and bitter agony, let his indescribable 
misery endure from century to century, the sentence of condemnation, once 
passed, abides forever, and will never be alleviated for the space of a single 
moment. "If the tree fall to the south or to the north, in what place so- 
ever it shall fall, there shall it be." Eccles 11:3. 

All this awaits you, O sinner ! in the judgment of an enraged God. . . . 
You may doubt, or, perhaps, even discredit it; you may banish the thought 
of the judgment for a season from your mind; you may run from 
pleasure to pleasure, you may make yourself, for the time being, blind and 
deaf to the terrors which await you, but whether you prepare for it or not, 
the hour will come when you shall stand alone and defenceless before the 
throne of your God. "Every one of us shall render account for himself to 
God." Rom. 14: 12. "We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of 
Christ." Rom. 14: 10. "When one departs this life, he shall forthwith be 
placed before the jugdment-seat of God, and the most searching scrutiny 
will be made of all things which he has ever thought, spoken, or done." 
St. Aug. lib. 2, De anima, cap. 4. 

IJ. Mortal sin is so great an evil that it deserves painful and eternal 
punishment. And such a punishment is really inflicted upon the sinner. 
God punishes him 



Second Friday in Lent. 365 

1. With a hell full of torment. And the torment of hell is twofold: 

a) The torment of the gnawing worm. The Prophet speaks of a worm 
which gnaws in the heart of the damned: " Their worm shall never die." 
Our divine Saviour repeats the same words: "Their worm dieth not." 
Mark. 9: 47. If a worm were generated in your heart, my brethren, 
eating into its very core day and night, what exquisite pain would it not 
produce? In the heart of the damned there lives a very poisonous worm, 
which continually gnaws the soul with its sharp teeth, — this is the worm of 
conscience, bitter remorse. It continually says: "What have you lost, O 
sinner? Into what infinite misery have you not plunged yourself! You 
might so easily have been a child of everlasting salvation, and, now, you 
are, forevermore, a child of infernal perdition ! " The Fathers of the Church 
declare, that the torment of the gnawing worm is very painful. St. Bernard 
says: "This is the worm that never dies, the memory of past things. It 
never ceases to gnaw at the conscience, and, nourished by this indigestible 
food, it continues its life. I shudder at this biting worm and everlasting 
death. I shudder to fall into the hands of the living death and of the 
dying life ! " 

b. The torment of the devouring fire. ' ' Which of you can dwell with 
devouring fire ? Which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings P" 
Is. 23: 14. "The end of them is a flame of fire." Eccles 21: 10. "I am 
tormented in this flame." Luke 16: 24. " He shall be tormented with fire 
and brimstone." Apoc. 14: 10. "Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire." Matt. 25: 41. "The chaff he will burn with unquenchable 
fire." Luke 3:17. "The Angels shall separate the wicked from among 
the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire." Matt. 13: 50. The 
Fathers of the Church use similar language. "There will not be so small 
a fire as burns upon your hearth-stone, and if any one would compel you 
to put your hand into it, you would rather give him anything than put your 
hand therein." St. Augustine in Ps. 49. "As often as I look at the earthly 
fire, I think of the fire of hell, and cannot sufficiently bewail the miserable 
condition of the damned." St. John Climachus in seal. par. grad 4. Be- 
hold, O sinner ! this hell of torments awaits you, and it is 

2. A hell without end. The enraged God said of old to his faithless 
people: " I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual 
shame which shall never be forgotten. " Jer. 23: 40. The Eternal Truth 
has declared that his sentence to the reprobate at the Last Day shall be: 
"Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.'* Matt. 25: 41. "The 
smoke of their torments," says the Revelation of St. John, "shall ascend 
up for ever and ever." Apoc. 14: n. We all know, my brethren, that a 
certain sort of fire was created to serve the use of man in his necessities, 



366 Second Friday in Lent. 

but, alas ! it is quite another sort of fire which serves the justice of God in 
his vengeance. The latter, unlike the former, does not consume what it 
burns, it continually restores what it feeds upon. No wonder, then, 
that those terrible and insatiable flames must burn for ever. Eternal will 
be the fire since eternal is its fuel, — the soul of the sinner and his. unremitted 
sin. 

O most dreadful of all truths ! The judgment of an angry God and the 
hell of an avenging God, alike, await the sinner . . . This is the reward, or 
rather punishment of his momentary delights, his base brief joys, his loath- 
some, short-lived pleasures . . . This is your portion, O poor deluded 
ones, who disregard God and his holy law, who stretch out your hands to 
grasp the goods of others, who shamelessly dishonor your bodies by lust 
and carnal excesses. This your portion and inheritance, O drunkard, O 
proud man, O profligate father, O godless son ! Fly, before it be too late, 
from the wrath to come; and, having immediate recourse to the tribunal 
of infinite mercy, seek by a sincere repentance to avert from your souls the 
irrevocable sentence of infinite justice, that you may never know how dread- 
ful a thing it is "to fall into the hands of the living God." A blessing 
which, from my heart, I wish you in the name of the adorable Trinity, the 
Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen. 



Third Friday in Lent. 367 



THIRD FRIDAY IN LENT. 



IS there no relief? 



' ' The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed: because his com- 
miserations have not failed '." La??ient. 3: 22. 

How dreadful it is, my dear Christians, to be confined for years to a 
sick-bed of pain, to languish and to suffer, yet, not be able to die ! How 
dreadful it is to be condemned to prison for life, and to remain day and 
night, in dismal solitude, between damp walls! . . . How dreadful to 
awake from a trance in one's coffin, and to cry out for help in vain ! . . . 
But infinitely more dreadful is it, to be stricken by the avenging justice of 
God, and to weep, despairing, in everlasting misery. This lot befalls the 
unhappy sinner who departs this life in final impenitence. "Hell devours 
him who dies in his sins." (St. Greg.) But, is there no relief, — no escape? 
No, there is no resource for him who once has fallen a victim to hell, — 
there is no relief, nor hope of relief for such a one for all eternity. But for 
you, sinner, who are still living, there is relief. A solemn voice of olden 
times says: "The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed: because 
his commiserations have not failed. " Yes, his commiserations have not 
failed, there is hope, there is relief, yet 

I. In the heart of God, and 
II In the bosom of our holy Mother, the Church, 

I. There is relief for the sinner in the heart of God, Is it really so, 
you ask ? Do not doubt it for a moment, for 

1. God wills not the perdition of the sinner. 

a) His own word is our guarantee for this fact: "Thou hast mercy 
upon all, because thou canst do all things, and overlookest the sins of men 
for the sake of repentance." Wisd. n: 24. '•' The Lord waiteth that he 
may have mercy on you." Is. 30: 18. "As I live," saith the Lord, "I 
desire not the death of the wicked, but that he turn from his evil way, and 
live." Ezech. ^y. 11. "The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but 
to save." Luke 9: 56. "The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some 
imagine, but beareth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should 
perish, but that all should return to penance." 2. Pet. 3: 9. All these 



368 Third Friday in .Lent. 

passages contain the words of God, the promises of God, so true and 
infallible, that the mere doubt of them would be sin. God wills not the 
perdition of the sinner. 

b) You have an example of it in your own person. 

We have heard that every mortal sin is an infinite crime, and deserves 
hell. Hence, God would act consistently with his justice if, after the com- 
mission of his first sin, he would fling man into the everlasting pool of fire. 
But, because he does not desire the death of the sinner, he withholds his 
avenging arm, — he waits and endures. . . . Have you not experienced this 
yourself, my brother? Hew old are you? Forty, fifty years, or, perhaps, 
older. How long is it since you fell into your first grievous sin ? Was it 
not in your youth? And, yet, you are not in hell? To the first sin you 
added the second, the third, the fourth. And, still, you are not in hell? 
Your grievous sins have increased, doubtless, with years in number and 
weight. And, yet, O sinner ! yet, you are not now in hell ? Perhaps, a 
few days ago, perhaps yesterday, perhaps to-day, you have sinned wil- 
fully and mortally. And yet, (I repeat it,) you are not now in hell? What 
does this prove? That God wills not your perdition; for, if he willed it, 
he could long ago have delivered you to eternal damnation. . . . 

2. God wills the sinner s rescue; he wills his salvation. 

a) He reaches forth his hand to him. All those passages of the Sacred 
Scripture, my brethren, which speak of the mercy of God, assert this con- 
soling truth. They are countless; but I shall adduce only a few. "The 
Lord is patient and full of mercy, taking away iniquity and wickedness." 
Numbers 14: 18. "Thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life." 
Ps. 22: 6. "The earth is full of the mercy of God." Ps. $2: 5. "Praise 
the Lord, for he is good, and his mercy endureth for ever." Ps. 135: 1. 
Nay, more, my dear Christians, even to the sinner that is sunk in the 
lowest abyss of corruption and degradation, our merciful Father offers his 
helping hand. "If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as 
snow, and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool." Is. 1 : 18. 
And not only does he offer to the sinner his saving hand, but, O merciful 
condescension ! 

b) He draws him, also, to his heart. In the Sacred Scriptures we find 
the most touching examples of this divine tenderness and clemency in the 
conversions of Mary Magdalene, St. Peter, the penitent thief on the cross; 
and more especially in the parable of the prodigal son. The latter, having 
grieved his father very much, and wasted his entire substance by living 
riotously in a strange land, returns, at last, to his father's house in abject 
poverty and with a lacerated heart. And how does that good father receive 



Third Friday in Lent. 369 

him? "When he was, yet, a great way off, his father saw him, and was 
moved with compassion, and, running to him, fell upon his neck, and 
kissed him."' Luke 15: 20. Was not this touching example sufficient in 
itself to convince the most incredulous of the tender patience of the Most 
High with his erring creatures ? And yet, as if this parable of his marvel- 
ous clemency needed yet stronger confirmation, our blessed Lord saw fit 
to preface it with another consoling similitude: "What man among you, 
that hath a hundred sheep; and if he lose one of them, doth he not leave 
the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost until he find 
it ? And when he hath found it, doth he not lay it upon his shoulders, 
rejoicing; and coming home, call together his friends, saying to them: 
Rejoice with me because I have found my sheep that was lost ! I say to 
you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth 
penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance." 
Luke 15: 3-8. 

O, my dear brethren, so great is the mercy of God which reaches forth 
a helping hand to the sinner and draws him to his sacred, burning heart, 
that it cannot be explained in the words nor conceived by the thought of 
man. (St. Chrys. horn. 2 in ps. 20.) This tender mercy of God is the 
only hope of the sinner, and if he has recourse to it in time, he will meet 
with a loving reception, and obtain entire forgiveness of his crimes. 

II. There is help and relief for the sinner in the bosom of the Church; 
for, God has appointed her 



To receiv 



e sinners 



a) With alt love. Our good God, my brethren, has established in his 
Church an unfailing fountain of relief and salvation for fallen man. He 
has given her, with the tender office of a mother, the commission to stretch 
forth her arms to sinners and draw them to the embrace of her maternal 
bosom; wherefore, she never ceases to call to those afflicted ones: "Come 
to me, all you that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." 
(Matt. 11: 28.) And if they will but listen to her pleading accents, if they 
will but "run after the odor of her ointments," she will receive them with 
extended arms, and clasps them to her breast. "The Spirit of the Lord is 
upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to preach to 
the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, to give them a crown for ashes, the 
oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for the spirit of grief. " 
(Is. 61 : 1-3.) God has appointed his Church to receive all sinners, 

b) Without any exception. She does not say: "Come to me, you that 
labor and are heavy laden," but "Come to me, all you that labor and are 
heavy laden, and I will refresh you." Matt. 11: 28. Though the sinner 



3 7° Third Friday in Lent. 

be ever so miserable and loathsome, — he is lovingly received. Though he 
may have run for years in all the crooked ways of vice, though he may 
have lived in habits of the grossest sin all the days of his life, — he is lovingly 
received. Though he may have committed adultery like David, murder 
and rapine like the thief on the cross, yea, even treason and apostacy, like 
Judas; though, in fact, he may have trampled under foot all human and 
divine laws, — once truly repentant, my dear brethren, he is lovingly 
received. "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the 
son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet, I will not forget thee." 
Is. 49 : 15- • • • 

More than that. God has appointed his Church: 

2. To confer grace on sinners. For that purpose he has given her 

a) The treasure of all salvation, — to wit: the blood which our adorable 
Redeemer shed upon the cross. With this treasure all debts are paid. 
"Christ died for us; much more, therefore, being now justified by his 
blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him. " Rom. 5:9. "If the 
blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of a heifer being sprinkled, 
sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh; how much more 
shall the blood of Christ, who, through the Holy Ghost, offered himself 
without spot to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve 
the living God ? " Hebr. 9: 13, 14. "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth 
us from all sin." 1. John 1: 7. This priceless treasure of salvation is 
deposited in the Church, she has the key to it in her hands, and can take 
from its unfailing coffers, the wherewith to pay all our debts. A single 
drop of the adorable blood of Jesus is sufficient to outweigh the sins of 
thousands of worlds. Besides this, God has given her 

b) The power to loose from sin. "And I will give to thee the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven. . . . And whatsoever thou shalt loose upon 
earth, it shall be loosed, also, in heaven." Matt. 16: 19. "Amen, I say 
to you, . . . whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed, also, 
in heaven.'' Matt. 18: 18. "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you 
shall forgive, they are forgiven them." John 20: 22, 23. From these 
passages it is evident that the Church in her priesthood possesses the power 
of forgiving sins, and of reconciling the sinner with God. To those who 
walk upon earth is committed the administration of that which is in 
heaven; and the priests have received a power which God gave neither to the 
Angels nor Archangels. To these it was not said: "Whatsoever you shall 
bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall 
loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. " The kings of this earth, 
it is true, have, also, the power to bind, but only the body. But the 
binding of the priests regards the soul and reaches into heaven. Whatever 



Third Friday in Lent. 371 

the priests do here below, is ratified by God above, the Lord confirming 
the sentence of his servants. (Chrys. de Sacerd. lib. 3, cap. 5.) 

In conclusion, my dear Christians, let us seriously consider how infinite 
is the misery of the sinner, since the judgment of an angry God, and the 
hell of an avenging God await him. . . . But there is relief in the heart of 
Jesus, and in the arms and bosom of his holy Church. . . . Therefore, 
sinner, despair not. If all the demons of hell should cry out to you: 
''You are lost!" reply to them with humble faith and confidence: "I can 
yet be saved. The heart of God, my Father, and the arms of our holy 
Mother, the Church, are still open to receive me. Into that heart, the 
asylum of sinners, — into those arms, the refuge of the miserable and afflicted, 
lo ! I flee with courage and contrite hope, and there, with the help of my 
merciful Redeemer, I shall find grace and everlasting salvation ! " Amen. 



372 Fourth Friday in Lent. 



FOURTH FRIDAY IN LENT. 



HOW TO BEGIN. 



"He that will love life, and see good days, let him decline from 

evil, and do good." i. Pet. 3: 10, 11. 

How glad, my dear brethren, is the shipwrecked mariner, who battles 
with the waves and is every moment in danger of perishing, if a rope is 
thrown out to him, to which he can cling ! . . . How glad must not the 
sinner be, who is wrecked on this stormy ocean of life with the abyss of 
hell threatening at every moment to swallow him up, — if a strong hand is 
held 01ft to him to rescue him from eternal perdition. Yes, there is safety, 
yet, for the repentant sinner in the heart of God and in the arms of the 
Church. But, how is he to begin the work of 'his salvation? St. Peter 
gives the right answer to this question in the following words: "He that 
will love life, and see good days, let him decline from evil, and do good. '* 
Alas ! poor sinner, you have been aroused out of the sleep of sin by the 
depth of the abyss into which you have fallen, especially by the terrors 
which await you in eternity. Sighing you have called upon the good God 
to have mercy on you; you have implored him in the words of the royal 
Psalmist: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy; and 
according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my iniquity." 
Ps. 50: 1, 2. God will have mercy on you, poor afflicted soul, if you will 
but do what he demands of you; and that is 

I. To abandon the way of injustice, and 
II. To enter upon the way of justice. 

I. What does it mean to abandon the way of injustice? Three things 
are required for it. 

1. To repent of sin. So long as a man does not detest evil, he walks 
in the way of injustice; for his heart is attached to sin. Hence, the first 
condition of true repentance is sorrow, or contrition for sin. And this con- 
trition must be 

a) Sincere. It must have its root in the heart, — since, as the heart was 
formerly the seat of sin, it must now be the seat of contrition. "Rend 
your hearts," says the prophet Joel, "and not your garments." (3: 13.) 
"An afflicted spirit, a contrite heart the Lord will not despise." Ps. 50: 9, 



Fourth Friday in Lent. 373 

The contrition of the mouth and of the lips is not sufficient. The heart 
must be crushed, must be bruised, (as is the literal meaning of the word, ) 
by sorrow, and this sorrow must extend not only to one or two or three 
sins, but to all sins, at least, to all mortal sins committed. He who 
truly repents of his sinful life, makes no exception, he detests all grievous 
sins by which he has basely offended his God. The false contrition which 
includes only a few sins, and reserves to the penitent even one favonte 
mortal sin or evil habit, has no value whatever in the sight of the Most High. 

b) True contrition must be supernatural. It must proceed from God, 
and have God, alone, for its object. Now, my brethren, your contrition 
proceeds from God if it is caused by his interior impulse, that is, by his 
divine grace; ... it has God for its object, if you are sorry for your sins 
because thereby you have offended God, or, at least, because thereby you 
have lost heaven and deserved hell. This is the first and most necessary 
thing: Be sorry for your sins! "I know my iniquity, and my sin is 
always before me. To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before 
thee." Ps. 50: 5, 6. ''I am not worthy to be called thy son." Luke 15: 21. 

2. You must confess your sins. "If we confess our sins, God is faith- 
ful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity. " 
1. John 1: 9. "No man can be justified from sins, unless he confess his 
sins." Concil. Trid. sess. 14, can. 6. 7. We must, therefore, my dear 
Christians, confess 

a) With confidence in the mercy of God. If the sinner should believe 
that God either will not or cannot forgive him his offences, confession would 
be fruitless. Hence, the necessity for confidence in God ' ' who overlooks 
(or forgives) the sins of men for the sake of repentance. " Wisd. 11: 24. 
This confidence, then, my brethren, is necessary, and most especially 
necessary when the sins of the penitent surpass all measure and number. 
You must confess 

b) With a sincere self -accusation. "You must confess, at least, all 
grievous sins, according to number, species, and necessary circumstances." 
Concil. Trid. sess. 17, can. 7. Confess, dear Christians, by laying bare the 
true state of your soul, without excuses, without palliation; confess as your 
conscience accuses you, and as you believe yourself guilty before God. 
This is the second thing. Confess your sins! "Be not ashamed to con- 
fess thy sins." Eccles. 4:31. • • . Though it be ever so hard and painful 
to flesh and blood, overcome yourself for the love of God, and he, by his 
grace, will render the confession easy. . . . 

3. You must amend your life. There would be no sincere contrition, 



374 Fourth Friday in Lent. 

no firm purpose of amendment, in fact, it would be only a sham repent- 
ance, if, shortly after confession you commit the same sins you have so 
recently confessed. The devil leads some souls into hell by open, unrepented 
sin, — others by the snare of a false repentance. By returning to their former 
sins immediately after quitting the sacred Tribunal, they show that they, 
(as it were,) repent of their seeming repentance. Christ once risen from 
the dead died no more, so you, also, my brethren, having risen from sin, 
must sin no more, like Mary Magdalene, St. Peter, St. Paul, and a host 
of other sincere and holy penitents. You must amend your life, and 
for that purpose, 

a) Resist the temptation to sin. After confession, the same temptations 
will assail you, sometimes more violently than before. You must make 
war against them, you must struggle against anger, pride, drunkenness, 
lust, the love of earthly things; you must fight with all vigor, and earnest- 
ness, and constancy, as if a kingdom were to be taken; as, indeed, it is, — 
for the kingdom of heaven is the prize. But in order the easier to stand in 
battle, you must relinquish the proximate occasion of sin, for as long as 
you remain in that, in spite of the holiest resolutions, you will most certainly 
relapse, since you undertake an impossibility, viz: to avoid sin without 
avoiding the occasions of sin. "Can a man hide fire in his bosom, and 
his garments not burn ? Or can he walk upon hot coals, and his feet not 
be burnt?" Proverbs 6: 27, 28. Moreover, my dear brethren, you must 

b) Repair the damage caused by your sin. The neighbor is often in- 
jured by sin. Justice requires that reparation should be made. You have 
stolen something, perhaps, from another; — know, then, that you cannot, 
and must not, keep it; you must make restitution. You have injured, per- 
chance, the honor or good name of your neighbor, you must restore it. 
You have scandalized your fellow-men by word and example. You are 
bound to repair the injury which you have inflicted upon these immortal 
souls. 

This is the third thing. Amend your life, make satisfaction. "Put away 
the strange gods from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, 
and serve him only." 1. Kings 7: 3. "Be converted, and turn from your 
idols," (your darling sins and passions,) "and turn away your faces from 
all your abominations. " Ezech. 14:6. "Turn from thy sins. Turn away 
from thy injustice, and greatly hate abomination." Eccles. 17: 21-23. The 
illustrious St. Gregory explains that "to do penance means to bewail the 
perpetrated evil, and to perpetrate the bewailed evil no more. " (Horn. 34, 
in Evang.) 

II. It does not suffice, my dear Christians, to forsake the way of in- 
justice, but you must, also, enter upon the way of justice. Decline from 



Fourth Friday in Lent. 375 

evil, — this is very good; but it is not enough; it is only the beginning of 
repentance. Another condition is equally necessary for a sincere con- 
version: Do good. This is done 

1. If you do what God commands. 

a) You will do what he commands, my brethren, if you obey his 
expressed will, such as the Ten Commandments. "The Lord spoke all 
these words." (Exod. 20: 1-18.) And this law which was given by the 
Lord to Moses on Mount Sinai, was confirmed and explained by his Eternal 
Son who said: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the 
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matt. 5: 17. His 
Church, too, tells you what he commands, through his representatives: 
"He that heareth you, heareth me." Luke 10: 16. The laws of the Church 
contain the will of God. God speaks through the mouth of his beloved 
Spouse. Obey, then, dear Christians, the precepts of the Church. 

b) Your own heart tells you what God commands, or what he forbids. 
God has written his will upon every human soul, that she may know what 
is right and wrong. This is the precious gift of Conscience which he has 
given to every one of his creatures. ' ' In every work of thine regard thy 
soul in faith; for this is the keeping of the commandments." Eccles. 32: 27. 
Walk the way of justice, my brethren. Observe carefully and perseveringly 
what God and your conscience tell you. . . . True, it is a great thing, and 
worthy of immortal reward, to thus do the expressed will of your Creator, 
but a greater thing it is, and belonging to eternal justice that 

2. You endure patiently the trials which he sends you. All spiritual 
writers assert that the bearing of the cross is absolutely necessary for every 
one who desires to walk this world as a Christian and to perform the 
justice of Christ; for our Lord himself says: "If any man will come after 
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. " Matt. 
16^ 24. And again: "He that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, 
is not worthy of me." Matt. 10: 38. Therefore, my brethren, strive to 
carry your crosses with cheerfulness and patience. 

a) The general cross. The whole world sighs under misery. "Thorns 
and thistles, " says the wisdom of Genesis (3:18). " Sweat of the brow, " says 
the same book of Moses (3: 19). Since every individual man is a de- 
scendant of sinful Adam who was forced in punishment for his disobedience 
to journey through thistles and thorns in this vale of tears, and to earn his 
bread in the sweat of his brow,, every creature of God is subject to labor 
and sufferings. ' ' Great labor is created for all men, and a heavy yoke is 
upon the children of Adam, from the day of their coming out of their 



» 



376 Fourth Friday in Lent. 

mother's womb, until the day of their burial into the mother of all." 
Eccles. 40: 1. 

b) Particular crosses. Every state of life has its difficulties and obstacles. 
The mother is tried, more or less, with her children; the wife, with her 
husband; the farmer, with his laborers; the poor man, with the necessities 
of his condition. — Bear, then, your cross, each one "of you, my dear 
brethren, with patience and resignation to the will of God. "Join thyself 
to God, and endure," says the Wise Man, "that thy life may be increased 
in the latter end. Take all that shall be brought upon thee; and in thy 
sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation, keep patience. For gold and silver 
are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. ,, 
(Eccles. 2: 3-5.) "Prepare thyself to suffer many adversities, and divers 
evils, in this miserable life," says, also, the pious A Kempis, "for so it will 
be with thee, wherever thou art, and so, indeed, wilt thou find it where- 
soever thou mayst hide thyself." (Imitat. of Christ, libr. 2, c. 12, v. 10.) 

From this brief discourse, my dear brethren, you now know what to do, 
and how to begin the work of your repentance, that you may obtain mercy 
and save your soul. Do not say it is too difficult. A thousand years 
employed in the most austere penance are incomparably easier to endure, 
than a quarter of an hour spent in hell. Begin, then, at once, and, (the 
grace of God assisting you to a happy termination of your labors and 
penances, ) may it be given you all to realize in your own souls the truth 
of the passage which forms a consoling supplement to my text of to-day, 
that "the eyes of the Lord are (ever) upon the just, and his ears open unto 
their prayers." Amen. 



Fifth Friday of Lent. 377 



FIFTH FRIDAY OF LENT, 



DELAY NOT YOUR REPENTANCE. 

" To-day if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Ps. 94: 8. 

The sinner, my beloved brethren, is often to be pitied. He perceives 
riis spiritual misery; he knows that he stands upon the brink of hell, and 
that the next moment may precipitate him into its abyss, making him 
miserable for all eternity; and yet, he will not take hold of the hand of 
God, which is gladly stretched forth at all times, to rescue him from per- 
dition. . . . And yet, he refuses to embrace that saving mercy. He will 
tell you, perhaps, that he intends some day to do so, but not now, later 
on, when he has grown older and wiser. What does the Spirit of God say 
to this? "Say not: I have sinned, and what harm hath befallen me? for 
the Most High is a patient rewarder. Be not without fear about sin for- 
given, and add not sin to sin. And say not: the mercy of God is great; 
he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins. For mercy and wrath 
quickly come from him; and his wrath looketh upon sinners. Delay not 
to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day. For his 
wrath will come on a sudden; and in the time of vengeance he will destroy 
thee.'' (Eccles. 5:4-9-) Again, St. Paul gives, voice to a similar rebuke: 
"Despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and patience, and long-suffer- 
ing? Knowest thou not that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance? 
But according to thy hardness, and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to 
thyself wrath, against the day of wrath, and revelation of the just judgment 
of God." (Rom. 2: 4, 5.) Therefore, my dear brethren, I cry out to you 
with emphasis — and Oh, that I could engrave these words with an iron 
pencil upon the tablet of your souls ! — " To-day if you shall hear his voice, 
harden not your hearts. " Delay not to be converted to the Lord, for if you 
defer your conversion from day to day, 

/ You risk everything, and 
77. In the end, you lose everything. 

I. You risk everything. What do you risk ? 

1. The greatest graces. 

a) The longanimity of God. It is most certainly one of the greatest 
of God's graces to the sinner, when he bears with him with indulgence and 



37^ Fifth Friday of Lent. 

patience. Consider only, my dear brethren, what an infinite outrage 
mortal sin is, and you will not be able to contain your astonishment that 
God defers its condign punishment even one single hour after its com- 
mission. . . . But God waits for the despiser of his supreme majesty, not 
only for the space of a single hour, but from year to year, and, often, on 
through the extended course of a long and sinful life. "I have always 
held my peace; I have kept silence; I have been patient," says the Mighty 
One, speaking through his prophet. (Is. 52: 14.) And, again, by the same 
lips: ''The Lord waiteth, that he may have mercy on you." (Is. 30: 18.) 
Ponder, also, my brethren, the thrilling parable of the barren fig-tree: 
"Behold," said the master of the vineyard to his laborer, "behold, these 
three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and I find none. Cut it 
down therefore; why doth it take up the ground?" (Luke 13': 7.) Terrible 
command! full of dread significance for the slothful Christian ! How long 
has God already waited for you, my brethren ? For many years, perhaps 
for half a century. And you still delay to be converted to him ? You will 
not yet confess your sins, nor avoid the occasions of sin, nor relinquish 
your bad habits, nor restore your ill-gotten goods? How presumptuously 
you play with the long : suffering patience of God ! How quickly it may 
all end for you, — perhaps to-morrow, perhaps to-day. "The lord of that 
servant shall come in a day that he expecteth not, and in an hour that he 
knoweth not; and shall separate him, and appoint his portion with the 
hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt. 24: 
50, 5i.) 

b) The mercy of God. Like his long-suffering patience, my brethren, 
the mercy of God is an inconceivably great grace. Ah, who is God, and who 
is the sinner? God, the Sovereign Creator, the Redeemer, the Sanctifier — 
God the infinite Power, the infinite Wisdom, the infinite and ineffable Good- 
ness ! Man, the work of his hands, the slave whom he has redeemed, — weak- 
ness, darkness, wickedness — worms, ashes, and corruption! Yet this great 
God, before whom a thousand years are as a day, and royal crowns like the 
dust in the road, offers mercy and pardon to that vile sinner, to the betrayer 
of his majesty, to the despiser of his most holy Name! Will you, then, dare 
to sport with this mercy of the Most High? The ancient prophet, inspired 
by his wisdom, cries out to you: "Return to the Lord, thy God; for thou 
hast fallen down by thy iniquity." (Osee 14: 2.) But you retort with the 
hard-hearted, stiff-necked people of old: "Command, command again; 
command, command again; expect, expect again; expect, expect again; a 
little there, a little there." (Is. 28: 10.) Will this long-abused mercy of 
God not be exhausted some time, my brethren, and, alas, when you least 
expect it? "Mercy and wrath are with him. He is mighty to forgive and 
to pour out indignation. According as his mercy is, so his correction 
judgeth a man according to his works." (Eccles. 16: 12, 13.) 



Fifth Friday of Lent. 379 

You risk everything. What do you risk? 

2. The highest goods. 

a) Your immortal soul. Who would doubt that the soul of man is an 
infinitely precious good? Man's soul is God's image and likeness. (Gen. 
1: 26.) And its value, its price, its ransom, the blood of a God, the blood 
of the Second divine Person of the ever adorable Trinity, made man for 
love of us. " Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible gold 
and silver from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers; but 
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undented. " 
(1. Pet. 1: 18, 19.) The devil is willing to give all the kingdoms of the 
world for the priceless pearl of one immortal soul: "All these will I give 
thee, if, falling down, thou wilt adore me. " (Matt. 4:9.) For your soul's 
sake, my beloved brethren, our Lord Jesus Christ has been crucified. And 
you will deliberately risk the loss of that precious, dearly-bought treasure ! 
You are well aware that the unconverted soul, the soul in the state of 
mortal sin, will be lost for ever. Yet, as long as you delay to be converted 
to the Lord, this terrible danger threatens you; and threatens you, more- 
over, every day, every moment. Will you thus risk that other great good, 
to wit: 

b) Your salvation ? Can you doubt for a moment that salvation is a 
most excellent good ? My dear brethren, it is the substance and the essence 
of all good; it is, in short, the highest good, completing man's felicity for 
all eternity. ' ' They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house, " says 
king David, "and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of pleasure. '' 
(Ps. 35: 9.) "That city into which we are to enter," exclaims the great 
bishop of Hippo, "differs from our earthly habitation, as the light of the 
sun and of the moon differs from the light of him who created the sun and 
the moon." (St. Aug. De civitate Dei.) "In the eternal beatitude,'* adds 
the same learned author in another of his works, "you find everything you 
love; and you can desire nothing that will not be there. '" (St. Aug. De 
Trin.) And this felicity, you have the blind temerity to risk? Faith teaches, 
my dear Christians, that man has no claim to heaven, so long as he lives 
in the state of mortal sin. From this it follows that, if you delay your 
conversion, you are continually in danger of forfeiting your eternal 
salvation. 

II. If you delay to be converted to the Lord, if you defer your con- 
version from day to day, you risk everything and, in the end, lose everything. 
How is this? 

1. You may die suddenly and unexpectedly. 



380 Fifth Friday of Lent 

a) Think of the many dangers. Nothing is menaced in this world as 
much as our natural life. Everything about us, dear brethren, has an occult 
power which, if exercised, can bring us to a sudden death. The sun, 
beautiful and bright as it is, may inflame your brain and cause apoplexy. 
If you walk by the sea-shore or go to bathe in its waters, a powerful wave 
may carry you away beyond your depth and drown you. If you traverse 
the streets of the city, and pass a building in course of erection, a stone or 
a board may fall upon your head, and crush it out of all semblance of 
humanity. A pistol-shot from some rough crowd at the corner may pierce 
your heart on your way home. The house in which you live may fall 
down, and bury you in its ruins. The staircase, as you go up or down, 
may break, and cause your destruction. In the midst of a thunderstorm, 
the lightning may strike and kill you. You may be thrown out of your 
buggy, and your neck broken on the spot. Travelling, you may lose your 
life by a collision on the railroad, or the explosion of a steamboat-boiler. 
But who, my brethren, could ever enumerate all the different kinds of 
death that continually menace life ? ' ' There is but one step (as I may say) 
between me and death." (1. Kings 20: 3.) "Remember," says the Wise 
Man, "that death is not slow, and that the covenant of hell," (the decree 
by which all are to go down to the regions of death, ) ' ■ hath been shewn 
thee; for, the covenant of this world shall surely die." (Eccles. 14: 2.) In 
short: "It is appointed for men once to die." (Hebr. 9: 27.) Reflect, 
then, my dear Christians, 

b) How little security is yours. Do you say to me: "Yes, but I am 
now young and strong"? Youth is no security against death. Young 
people may die, as well as the old. How many die in the bloom of youth 
and health ? Does not the holy Scripture tell us of the death of the young 
man of Nairn, — of the sad taking-off of the fair young daughter of Jairus? 
One cold frost in the early autumn blights the fairest blossoms and flowers 
of summer. Strength is no security against death. A violent storm breaks 
down the strongest trees. Nay, more, the great tall tree is a surer mark 
for the tempest than the frail little fern growing at its foot. Lazarus, the 
strong man, was striken down by mortal disease even in the midst of a 
loving and attentive circle of relatives and friends. Neither is health any 
security against death, my brethren. Here to-day, and away to-morrow. 
How many have gone to bed at night in good health, and have been found 
dead in the morning ! How many have arisen in good spirits in the morn- 
ing, have taken their breakfasts, and gone about their business; and, yet, 
were cold, and stiff, and dead the same evening ! "Man knoweth not his 
own end," says the inspired Writer, (Eccles. 9: 12,) and again: "Boast not 
of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what the day to come may bring 
forth." (Prov. 27: 1.) "God," remarks a celebrated doctor of the Church, 
"has not revealed to us the hour of death." (St. Gregory.) And if you, in 



Fifth Friday of Lent. 381 

your turn, my brethren, should die suddenly, — (for what has happened to 
thousands of others, may easily happen to you;) if death should steal upon 
you unawares, "like a thief in the night," as our Lord has foretold, — and 
if it should not find you watching, you may lose everything and for ever ! 
But let us suppose that a sudden death should not overtake you, — there 
may still be something else much more terrible in store for you. 

2. You may die unprepared, 

a) Because of your own fault. As a rule, sickness precedes death, my 
brethren, and sickness is an urgent warning from God, pressing you 
to be converted to him. But very often that salutary warning is in vain, 
because you do not realize your danger. You regard death as something 
far off, something remote, which may come to you at a future day, but not 
just then. You have every hope of recovery from your sickness; a fond 
delusion, in which those who surround you, your physician, your relatives, 
your friends, with cruel kindness encourage you. Thus it comes to pass 
that the reception of the last Sacraments is deferred, — perhaps, not even 
thought of. Finally, the solemn moment of dissolution arrives. The 
cheek grows deadly white — the death-sweat trickles down, — the eyes stare 
wildly; and, lo ! the cry is made: "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye 
forth to meet him." (Matt. 25: 6.) Alas! the lamp is empty; there is no 
time to fill it; "the door is shut.'' (Matt. 25: 10. ) It is now too late to go 
in with the happy faithful virgins to the banquet of eternal bliss ! — Or, 
my brethren, even if you know your danger, you may decline to make 
good use of it. Many dying persons cannot help but see that their end is 
near, but they refuse even in that supreme moment, to reach out their arms 
to their crucified Redeemer, they refuse to embrace the last pleading 
overtures of the mercy of God. Sham repentance or no repentance at all, 
are the customary characteristics of such miserable death-beds. And it is 
of such sinners that the Lord complains: "I knew that thou art stubborn, 
and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy forehead of brass.'' (Is. 48: 4.) 

Again, my brethren, you may die wilfully unconverted 

b) By the just judgment of God. Sometimes it is decreed in the divine 
councils that the sinner perish. Many passages of the Sacred Scripture 
seem to indicate this. "It was the sentence of the Lord, that their hearts 
should be hardened, and they should not deserve any clemency, and 
should be. destroyed. " (Josue 11: 20.) "I will laugh in their destruction, 
and will mock." (Prov. 1: 26.) "You shall die in your sins." (John 8: 25.) 
O, my brethren, how terrible, how awe-inspiring, are these sentences ? God 
always offers sufficient grace to the sinner, with which, if he earnestly willed 
it, he could save his soul. But he lacks the earnest, persevering will, and 



3S2 Fifth Friday of Lent. 

hence, the sufficient grace profits him nothing; he perishes in the end 
through his own fault. And if you, my brethren, should thus play with the 
grace of God, if you should go out of this world in the state of sin, — (and 
such may easily happen, ) — you, too, will lose both soul and salvation. In 
hell, alas ! the reprobate sinner may shed torrents of tears for those lost, 
those priceless goods, but nevermore shall he find the saving grace and 
mercy which he abused, and scorned, and outraged here on earth ! 

Therefore, dear Christians, delay not your repentance. Do not believe 
the devil when he suggests to you: "At a later period you may do penance 
for your sins." Do not believe the world which says to you: "Wait a little 
yet. " Believe not even your own heart, when it says to you : ' ' Later on. " 
— But listen to these words: "To-day if you shall hear his voice, harden 
not your hearts. " Amen. 



Sixth Friday in Lent. 383 



SIXTH FRIDAY IN LENT. 



HOW GLAD YOU WILL BE ! 

"My soul shall rejoice." Ps. 34: 9. 

A return to God, my beloved brethren, is absolutely necessary, if the 
sinner desires to escape eternal damnation. Either penance or eternal 
perdition. There is no middle way. "Unless you do penance, you shall 
all likewise perish." (Luke 13: 3.) "Do penance; for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand." (Matt. 3: 2.) This return to God, however, is no 
child's play, but requires a determined will and many sacrifices. The 
longer conversion is deferred, the greater become the obstacles, the more 
rare is repentance; and finally, all is irretrievably lost. Therefore, in my 
last discourse I said: "Delay not." O, that you may attend to this call, 
dear Christians, and without delay, arise from the pit into which you have 
fallen ! Then, you will be exceedingly glad, you will rejoice like to a 
person rescued from shipwreck, rejoice like to a man who is pulled safely 
out of a burning mine. And this shall be the subject of our last Lenten 
meditation. How glad you will be, how your soul will rejoice 

I, In every hour of life-long repentance, and 
//". Especially in your last hour. 

I. "There is no health in my flesh, there is no peace for my bones, 
because of my sins." (Ps. 37: 4.) "Sleep is gone from my eyes, and I am 
fallen away; and my heart is cast down. for anxiety." (1. Mach. 6: 10.) 
Thus sighs the sinner, finding voice in the words of the great penitents of 
the Old Law. But how different are his emotions the moment he returns 
to God ! His conversion brings into his heart 

1. Sweet consolation, because 

a) His sin is blotted out. "The Lord is patient and full of mercy, 
taking away iniquity and wickedness." (Numb. 14: 18.) "If my people 
being converted, do penance for their most wicked ways, then, I will hear 
from heaven, and will forgive their sins." (2. Paralip. 7: 14.) "I have 
blotted out thy iniquities as a cloud, and thy sins as a mist." (Is. 44: 22.) 
"God is patient with sinners till they are converted, and this being done, 
he forgets the past. " (St. Aug. ) What blessed consolation for the sincere 
penitent ! The guilt is blotted out. Though I have committed many and 



384 Sixth Friday in Lent. 

great crimes, — as soon as I truly repent of them, the guilt is blotted out.. 
Though I have perpetrated a thousand sacrileges and outrages richly 
deserving of hell fire, — as soon as I turn to my heavenly Father, crying 
Peccavi! with sentiments of real and profound contrition, the guilt is blotted 
out. How you must rejoice, my dear brethren, at such a thought ! 

b) You are reconciled io your God. "Because they are humbled/' 
says that merciful God, "I will not destroy them; and I will give them a 
little help; and my wrath shall not fall upon them," (2. Paralip. 12: 7.) 
" If that nation against which I have spoken," says he again, "shall repent 
of their evil, I also will repent of the evil that I have thought to do to 
them." (Jer. 18: 8.) "How great is the mercy of the Lord," cries out the 
Wise Man in amazement: "and his forgiveness of them that turn to him." 
(Eccles. 17: 28.) And, lo ! in the parable of the prodigal son we read with 
grateful tears, dear Christians: "The father was moved with compassion, 
and running to him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him." (Luke 15: 20.) 
What a comfort for the converted sinner! He can say: "My God is 
reconciled to me; I can look up to him once more with confidence, and 
need not fear the arrows of his anger. " But your return to God produces 
still another fruit. It brings a 

2. Sure hope of life. By his return to God, the sinner becomes 

a) A child of God. Grace, God's most beautiful and highest gift to 
man, is lost by sin. "If any one saith, that a man, once justified, can sin 
no more, or lose grace, let him be anathema," declares the solemn Council 
of Trent. (Concil. Trid., sess. 6, can. 23.) In the fifteenth chapter of the 
same session it is taught that by every mortal sin, grace is lost. To the 
repentant sinner, God gives again the precious treasure of his divine grace. 
Through a mystery which he alone can accomplish, he makes him the 
object of his complacency, and adorns him with the lost ornaments of the 
faithful son and heir. "Bring forth quickly the first robe and put it on 
him," said the father of the Prodigal, "and put a ring on his hand." 
"Born again," said our Lord to Nicodemus. (John 3: 3.) And "Behold 
what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us," bursts forth 
the Apostle of love in admiration, "that we should be named and should 
be the sons of God." (1. John 3: 1.) Thus man is made a child of God, 
and for that very reason, 

b) An heir of heaven. "And if sons, heirs also, heirs, indeed, of God, 
and joint-heirs with Christ," as St. Paul declares in his Epistle to the 
Romans. (8: 17.) The great inheritance which God has prepared for the 
children of grace, and of which Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother, has already 
taken possession, is heaven. "God hath appointed us to the purchasing of 
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ," (1. Thess. 5:9,) "unto an inheritance 



Sixth Friday in Lent. 385 

incorruptible, and undented, and that fadeth not, reserved in heaven for 
you." (1. Pet. 1:4.) How rejoiced, therefore, will you be, my beloved 
brethren, in every hour of your repentant life! How glad will you be 
when you reflect that your guilt, (no matter how great,) is blotted out, and 
that you are sweetly reconciled with your offended God ! How glad, 
when you reflect that you are a child of that great and good God, and an 
heir of heaven, a co-heir, in short, with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
Indeed, whatever the world may present you as grand and delightful, can- 
not possibly bring you such consolation and comfort as these considerations 
afford. You should thank God every day for your conversion, my dear 
brethren, and praise his mercies. "My soul shall rejoice," exults the 
royal penitent of old. . . . (Ps. 34: 9,) "The mercies of the Lord I will sing 
forever." (Ps. 88: 2.) 

II. How glad you will be, how much you will rejoice in your last 
hour ! For 

1. All things are set in order. The last hour, no doubt, is an hour 
rich in tears. We have numberless examples of this before our eyes. But 
particularly bitter is this hour to the children of sin. Death knocks at the 
door in the midst of their unjust money-getting, of their impure and 
sensual diversions, and, alas ! what fear and anguish and lamentation does 
not the sound of that skeleton hand evoke ! "They shall be troubled with 
terrible fear." says the Inspired Text, "and shall be amazed at the sudden- 
ness." (Wisd. 5:2.) How much, on the other hand, will you rejoice, O 
sinner ! if now you arise from the abyss of sin and embrace a life of penance; 
for at the hour of death you will find all things set in order 

a) Before God. You have confessed and bewailed your sins in good 
season, and the Lord has pardoned them. Every thing is now in order. 
What a consolat : on there is for the dying person in this pleasing thought: 
I go, indeed, to a God, "who is just in all his ways," (Ps. 144: 7,) "who 
rendereth to every one according to his works," (Matt. 6: 2j,) but all my 
house is set in order. I go to a God, whom I have, indeed, offended by 
my sins, but with whom I have reconciled myself by repentance in time. 
Blessed be his mercy ! my house is set in order, 

b) Be/ore the world. By your prompt conversion, long before the 
hour of death, you have also reconciled yourself with the world, and the 
world, too, has forgiven you. How consoling for the dying man is the 
thought: I am about to depart from a world, wherein I have repaired 
whatever damage or injury I have caused by my sins. I have restored 
the injured reputation of my neighbor, I have made restitution of the ill- 
gotten goods I once wrongfully acquired, I have blotted out, thank God ! 



386 Sixth Friday in Lent. 

all the scandals I have given. My house is set in order. How rejoiced is 
the steward who has his books and cash in order, when he is called 
upon by his master to render an account. No less will you be rejoiced, my 
dear Christians, when at the approach of death you find that all your 
spiritual affairs are set in order. Then 

2. The departure is easy. You will leave the world 

a) With a joyous confidence in God. "As I live, saith the Lord God," 
(by the mouth of his prophet,) "I desire not the death of the wicked, but 
that the wicked turn from his way, and live." (Ezech. $y. 11.) "The Son 
of man," said the Eternal Truth himself, "is come to seek and to save that 
which was lost." (Luke 19: 10.) For this reason, my brethren, the con- 
verted penitent departs this life with confidence in God who has forgiven 
his sins, and with confidence in the Redeemer whose blood has cleansed 
his soul from every stain. You will leave this world, dear Christians, 

b) With the joyous assurance of salvation. It is true a man who has 
once fallen into grievous sin, can lay no just claim to heaven, — only "the 
innocent in hand, the clean of heart" can aspire to ascend the mountain of 
the Lord. And no man, my brethren, knows whether he be worthy of 
love or hatred. But on account of God's* mercy and his promises to for- 
give the penitent, and reinstate him in all his rights, — the converted sinner 
may, nevertheless, expect eternal salvation with confidence. 

How rejoiced will you be in the last hour, if you now return and do 
penance; for, then, your house will be set in order and it will be easy for 
you to die. In that last hour, you will look back with confidence upon the 
past, and rejoice that you, then, sincerely confessed your sins, abandoned 
the way of iniquity, and made your peace with God and the world, 
"before your feet stumbled upon the dark mountain." But you will also 
look forward with confidence into the future, dear Christians, — look for- 
ward across the precipice of the grave into eternity, where the crown of 
glory awaits you. With the Apostle of the Gentiles, you will joyfully 
exclaim: "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ." (Phil. 1: 25.) 
A good death will be yours, my brethren, if you die now to sin that you 
may live to justice. This death must precede and anticipate the inevitable 
death of the body, since the Psalmist has expressly declared: "Blessed are 
the dead who die in the Lord. Die to yourself and your sins, therefore, 
dear Christians, while the uncertain span of this life remains to you, and 
thus you will happily prepare yourself in time for that blessed life whicn 
lasts for all eternity. Amen. 



Good Friday. 387 



GOOD FRIDAY. 



THE DERELICTION OF JESUS UPON THE CROSS. 

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken meP" Matt. 27: 46. 

The bitter Passion and death of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, 
ought to be, especially in this week, the chief subject of our meditation. 
If we review, with some attention, the life and Passion of our Blessed Lord 
from his birth to his burial, we will come, my brethren, to the sad con- 
clusion that all his sufferings have their ground a?id cause in the malice, 
or, at least, in the imperfection of men. The malice of men assigned to 
the Son of God a stable for his birth-place; the malice of men drove him 
from his home into a foreign country; the malice of men pursued him in 
all his ways from youth to manhood; that same malice stretched forth and 
strengthened the hand of his enemies in order to apprehend, to strike, and 
to crucify him; and finally, that cruel malice tortured him, the innocent 
Lamb of God, even to the close of his bitter agony upon the cross. — Only 
one suffering was inflicted upon him, (without the intervention of men), 
immediately by God. And what is that exceptional suffering? It is that 
which on the cross forced from his Sacred Heart the painful complaint 
embodied in my text: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"' 
It is his being abandoned by God. And it is just this suffering which is 
least known to Christians, and, consequently, least esteemed by them: and 
no wonder; for it is really a mystery of which we would have no knowledge, 
whatsoever, if it had not pleased the Lord to raise the curtain, (as it were), 
on the cross and, granting us a glimpse of his interior, to reveal to us what 
occurred in that sanctuary of his soul during the time of his intense physical 
sufferings. But just because it is so little known, and so little regarded, 
when truly, my brethren, it is the most significant of all the torments of 
Jesus, I shall avail myself of this hour of devotion and spiritual recollection, 
in order to make with you a short meditation upon this touching mystery. 
I repeat, therefore: The abandonment of Jesus by God on the cross is the 
most significant of all his sufferings since it was 

I. The most painful; 
II. The longest endured; and 
III. The strongest proof of the love of fesus for his Eternal Father. 

I. In order, dear Christians, to get a clear idea or representation, 
(although it be, after all, but a feeble one), of the abandonment experienced 



388 Good Friday. 

by our Blessed Redeemer on the Cross, we must, first of all, consider that 
Jesus Christ was both God and man. We, my brethren, have only one soul 
in our body; Christ possessed in his body, not only like us, a human soul, 
but beside the human soul, the divine nature, which dwelt in him; so that 
he united in himself two natures, the human and the divine. 

What took place at the moment when God forsook Jesus P The divine 
nature in Jesus Christ withdrew itself from the human soul in a manner 
inexplicable to us; it no longer operated upon it. His divine nature did 
not separate itself from the body and the soul, but it no longer administered 
any light or consolation to the human soul, so that it was as if the divinity 
had really and completely departed. A?id what was the result of this 
apparent separation? The result was that the human soul in Jesus Christ 
felt, in that hour of supreme anguish, as if she were really alone, entirely 
separated from and forsaken by God; she seemed to be be in the condition 
of one who had drawn down upon herself the displeasure and indignation 
of God and the wrath of heaven. She was seized with the tormenting 
thought that the face of the all-holy God was averted, and would remain 
eternally averted from her; that his heart was closed against her, and would 
remain closed against her for ever. 

Now you will begin to realize, dear brethren, that this suffering was the 
most painful of all the sufferings of our crucified Redeemer. Not to 
mention that it was a suffering of the soul, (a purely spiritual pain); 
and that the sufferings of the soul, (spiritual, interior torments,) cause 
more vehement anguish than is inflicted by mere corporal sufferings, 
— I say, there can be nothing more terrible than the thought of being 
separated from God, the highest Good. This thought is something in- 
expressibly awful, even for a dying sinner who during his whole life cared 
nothing for God, despised and blasphemed him, wallowing for years in the 
mire of iniquity. How much more terrible, then, is this thought in every 
situation of life for a person who has always loved God with all the affection 
of his soul, and served him with all the sincerity of his heart; who knows 
and desires to know no other happiness, no other joy or pleasure, than to 
be eternally united with the Supreme Good ? In order to bring only one 
example of this sort before you, my brethren, permit me to remind you of 
the violent temptation of St. Francis of Sales, who at one period of his 
innocent and holy youth, was disquieted by the thought that he was for- 
saken and rejected by God. O, how this poor soul, inflamed with the love 
of God, bewailed his distress and dereliction both day and night. Almost 
unceasingly, the bitterest tears flowed from his pure young eyes; the anguish 
of his soul was so terrible, that even the most painful death would have 
been welcome to him, in order to escape that cruel pain. How terrible, 
then, must it have been for Jesus to feel himself all at once forsaken by his 
Eternal Father; for Jesus Christ, who was always united with God, who 
always loved God with the most perfect love; who never had or knew any 



Good Friday. 389 

other will but God's will, who for the love of God, took upon himself all 
the tribulations of life — what words can describe the depths and intensity 
of his dereliction ? As far as heaven is above the earth, so far his agony 
■surpasses that of all his suffering creatures. 

If the Saints sometimes experience a similar abandonment, although 
only in miniature, it appears to them more painful than the torments of 
hell itself. And yet, the Saints have the consoling consciousness that their 
being forsaken by God is only a trial of their virtue; that it serves to cleanse 
them from their sins and imperfections, and to qualify them more rapidly 
for heaven; to increase their merits in time and their reward in eternity. 
But even this consolation was wanting to our divine Saviour. And why ? 
Because he had taken upon himself all the sins of the world, and had 
become the scape-goat of our iniquities. He saw in spirit all the sins, 
vices, crimes, and abominations which from the fall of the first man defiled 
the human race, and will defile it until the hour of the last judgment. And 
at the sight of these many and grievous crimes, he felt as if he, alone, had 
committed them, and was obliged to atone for them; unspeakable was his 
abhorrence of the turpitude of sin, unspeakable was his grief on account 
of the dishonor of God. In his woe and consternation, he felt as if the 
sins of the world formed an insurmountable barrier between himself and 
God; he felt now, (because he felt as mere man), as if he never could make 
sufficient reparation, or perfect satisfaction to the divine justice for the 
assumed guilt of sin; and for this reason, it seemed to him in that hour of 
tremendous agony, as if he were rejected by God. St. Paul plainly teaches 
this in his Epistle to the Galatians, when he says: "Christ hath redeemed us 
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written: 

CURSED IS EVERY ONE THAT HANGETH ON A TREE." (Galat. 3: 1 3.) " His 

body shall not remain on the tree, but shall be buried the same day; for 
he is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree." (Deut. 21: 23.) Crushing, 
as it did, the Sacred Heart of our Blessed Lord with all its heavy weight, — 
in this curse chiefly consisted the torment and the horror of his being for- 
saken by God. Truly, we may boldly assert that though the other suffer- 
ings of his Passion, — for instance, his anguish on account of the blindness 
and malice of the Jews, on account of the weakness and fall of some of his 
disciples; the torments of his scourging, his crowning with thorns, his 
crucifixion, — were great and bitter, yet, in comparison with the torture of 
his dereliction, they were only as a refreshing dew. The abandonment of 
Jesus by his Eternal Father is in reality a nameless suffering, nameless in 
the full sense of the word; there is no name, there are no words, neither in 
the language of men, nor in the language of the Angels, sufficient to express 
its depths, its extent, its intensity. 

II. But what increased and aggravated the pain of the abandonment of 
Jesus by God in an incredible manner, was its long duration, a circumstance 



39° Good Friday. 

which must not be overlooked and disregarded, if we do not wish to form 
an erroneous conception of this mystery. 

i. This extraordinary pain did not begin only at the moment when 
Jesus cried out: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" — for 
in that case, he would have said: Why dost thou forsake me? Neither did 
it take its inception when he was nailed to the cross, and elevated upon it 
on Mount Calvary. This pain, on the contrary, was the first which came 
upon him after the Last Supper, and the last which departed from him on 
the hard bed of the cross. That his abandonment by God took its inception 
on Mount Olivet, Jesus Christ, himself, gives us to understand both by word 
and action. Contemplate him only for a moment, my dear brethren, in 
his agony in the Garden. In what a pitiable state does he not appear I 
Enormous mountains of sin were crushing him with their abominable 
weight; he sighs, he sobs and groans; trembling and growing pale, he 
wrings his hands, and sinks prostrate on the earth. There he lies upon 
his face as if annihilated; — dissolved in the agony of his soul, he prays, — 
yes, prays for hours, fervently imploring the divine mercy and compassion; 
prays with such a fire of desire that the very stones on which he lay, (more 
tender than the obdurate hearts of sinners), might have been moved to love 
and pity for him. 

And why all this intense suffering? Perhaps, out of fear of the corporal 
pains which were awaiting him during that night and the following day? 
That is impossible. We must not represent our Blessed Lord to ourselves 
as less courageous, less noble-hearted, than the holy martyrs. But no 
martyr, I believe, has ever bewailed his anticipated sufferings as Jesus did 
in the Garden of Olives. With him, therefore, it must have been another, 
a higher, the highest suffering in fact, that can be imagined, which terrified 
him on that occasion in such an extraordinary manner; — it must have been 
the pain of his abandonment by God. When the presence of God and the 
consolation of God are sensible, my brethren, the soul of the saint knows 
nothing of pusillanimity or hesitation. Remember St. Francis Xavier. 
Before his departure to Asia, he beheld in a vision all the hardships, 
tribulations, and sufferings which he was to undergo in his missionary- 
enterprise. But with holy courage and enthusiasm, he cried out: "More 
yet, O God, more yet !" Should our Blessed Lord be surpassed by a saint 
in fortitude ? What a senseless blasphemy ! Therefore, because in the 
Garden of Olives he felt himself already forsaken by his God, he was 
plunged into that boundless abyss of sadness in which he said to his 
disciples: "My soul is sorrowful even unto death." (Matt. 26: 38.) 
Because in his agony in the Garden he was already forsaken by his God, 
he said: "O my Father, if it is possible, let this chalice pass from me." 
(Matt. 26: 39.) O Father, all things are possible with thee, "let this 
chalice pass from me ;" a prayer which he probably repeated numberless 



Good Friday. 391 

times. Because at that hour he was already forsaken by his Father, hence 
that nameless anguish which seized his soul, hence the bloody sweat, 
which issued forth from every pore of his sacred Body. For this very 
reason, also, an angel came down from heaven and comforted him; for he 
would never have needed this exterior comfort, if the divine nature in him 
had not abstained from every comforting operation upon the human nature. 
But even the angel strengthened only the human will in Christ, without 
being permitted to communicate any light to his spirit, or any consolation 
to his heart. 

2. In this terrible state of desolation and dereliction, our Blessed Lord 
endured all his sufferings in the houses of Annas and Caiphas, in the 
palaces of Pilate and Herod, in the streets of Jerusalem, and on Calvary's 
height. This was, so to speak, the seasoning or the soul of each individual 
torture. It is this that made all the other sufferings, true sufferings. If 
the blessed feeling that he still possessed the love and friendship of God in 
the highest degree, if the blessed feeling that, after a few hours, he would 
be admitted into the bosom of eternal glory, had penetrated him in a lively 
manner, it would have been an easy matter for him to suffer a thousand 
times more than he really suffered in his body. The Saints say, that there 
is nothing sweeter upon earth than to suffer for God in the consciousness 
of the love of God, supported and upheld by divine grace and consolation. 
But to suffer without any interior consolation, to surfer with the conscious- 
ness of being forsaken by God, is a terror of terrors. And in such a manner, 
Christ suffered from the beginning of his first agony on the cross. There- 
fore, every Christian must admit that our Blessed Lord suffered more than 
all men together can suffer; for though some martyrs suffered for a longer 
time, and endured, if possible, more cruel pains than he, — yet, while their 
bodies suffered, my brethren, their souls were filled with heavenly joy. 

III. The abandonment of Jesus by God was not only the most pain- 
ful, and long-continued of the sufferings of our Blessed F.edeemer, but it 
was also that wherein he manifested his most perfect love for his Eternal 
Father. The proof of this is contained in the words: "My God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me ? " 

1. Consider attentively, dear brethren, the time of his pronouncing this 
complaint. It was not at the moment of his apprehension, nor of his 
scourging, — not at his crowning with thorns, nor his cruel crucifixion. 
During all the time that he was delivered to the power of men and of hell, 
not a word of complaint, on account of the terrible need of his soul, 
crossed his lips; no thought of complaint arose in the depths of his heart. 
The more severely God chastised him, the representative of sinners, the 
more humbly he submitted himself to his strokes. Only when the second 



39 2 Good Friday. 

agony had already reached its highest point of torture, when the soul 
began to be separated from the body, and each moment threatened to be 
the last, — only when he thought that he would have to depart hence in 
this awful state of abandonment by God, only then, dear Christians, did he 
speak those heart-rending words: "My God, my God, why hast thou for- 
saken me ? " When the chalice of all earthly suffering was emptied to the 
very dregs, then, at last, his bursting Heart cries out for the removal of 
that overwhelming agony which threatens to extend even beyond the grave, 
into the dread eternity. — But this complaint in that last dark hour was, 
nevertheless, my brethren, no cry of indignation or impatience, no murmur 
of rebellion, — it was only the natural expression of the most affectionate 
desire, of the most incomprehensible love of God. For with the words: 
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" our Blessed Lord would 
say nothing else than: "I care not for all the sufferings of this world; even 
hell with all its horrors, pains, and inextinguishable fires would be endur- 
able to me, my God, if I only were not forsaken by thee!" O what sublime 
language! What love ! It is an incomprehensible language to us, re-echoed 
by many Saints in those sublime and heroic words: i( 'Tis better to abide 
with God in hell, than dwell without him in heaven!" 

2. But, my brethren, let us not overlook the main point. Our Blessed 
Lord says: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Twice he 
lays a stress upon the little word tl My'\ thereby indicating in the clearest 
manner the strong and tender sentiments of his Sacred Heart. Hereby he 
gives us to understand those sentiments, as if expressed in these actual 
words: "Thou, O God, hast, indeed, forsaken me, but still thou art my 
God, my Love, — I shall never forsake thee. And even though I should be 
forsaken by thee forever; if, on account of the turpitude of the numberless 
sins which I have taken upon myself, I should never more find any favor 
in thy sight, nevertheless, thou shalt ever be my God, the God of my heart, 
my love, my all; I will remain obedient to thee for all eternity; it is thy 
honor, thy glory, thy will, alone, that I seek in all things ! " He is resolved 
to love God even in that terrible hour, when, as surety for sinners, he feels 
himself forsaken by, and separated from God, (as it were), forever. Truly, 
this seems to be the highest degree of love to which Jesus could elevate 
himself. This is that obedience of which St. Paul speaks, when he says: 
"Christ debased himself, taking the form of a servant; he humbled himself, 
becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2: 7, 8.) 
And in this, his boundless loving obedience, consists the chief merit of his 
Passion; in it consists his reparation for the outraged honor of God; in it, 
in fine, dear Christians, consists his atonement for the sins of the world. 

3. To prove that it is not the fear of suffering, but simply the love of 
God and zeal for his honor that rules his heart, he immediately adds to his 



Good Friday. 393 

complaint the words: "I thirst" (John 19: 28); that is, ''I do not refuse 
to suffer still longer; on the contrary, I have a burning thirst to suffer new, 
yea, even the most grievous and long continued sufferings for thy honor, 
O God, and for the salvation of men, my brethren.'* — He had scarcely 
declared in these words his readiness to embrace further torments, when 
the period of his painful dereliction and abandonment by God, had an end. 
The divine nature in him suddenly manifested again its sweet, comforting, 
and enlivening influence upon his human soul; a perfect ocean of delight 
was poured out over his blessed Humanity. The guilt of sin was wiped out; 
the divine justice was satisfied, and sinful man reconciled to his offended 
Creator. The God of mercy embraced his dying Son with infinite love, 
and pressed him, appeased, to the adorable, paternal Heart. And in that 
holy embrace, Jesus departed from this world with the joyous exclamation: 
"It is consummated." .... "Father, into thy hands I commend my 
spirit."' (John 19: 30. — Luke 23: 46.) He had entered, my dear brethren, 
into the everlasting delights of Paradise. 

But let us not forget, beloved Christians, that if Jesus suffered such 
tremendous and terrible torments, it was because he loved us poor sinners, 
because he wished to win a return of love from us. O, that we might fulfil 
the desire of his loving Heart, and, according to the words of the Apostle, 
that we might no longer live to ourselves, but to him who has died for us! 
But is it possible not to love so good a Lord, so amiable a Redeemer? 
Lacking this most natural, this most reasonable sentiment, should we not 
be regarded as monsters of men? Men without feeling, men without 
hearts, men, I should say, without the semblance of human nature? For 
in accordance with the law of our nature, love, everywhere, wins a return 
of love. If the infinite love of Jesus, alone, is unable to elicit from us a 
return of love, — must we not, with truth, be considered monsters of 
humanity? At the mere thought, at the bare possibility of such coldness 
and ingratitude towards our divine Saviour, the heart of St. Paul was so 
inflamed and fired with zealous indignation, that in the consuming ardor 
of his soul, he exclaimed: " If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, 
let him be accursed.'' 1 (1. Cor. 16: 22.) This curse shall be verified in us 
also, if we do not glow with gratitude and love towards him who, in his 
supreme hour of dereliction and abandonment on the cross, became, 
through tender love, anathema for us. Only a gratefully-loving heart will 
obtain a share of that fruit of love which ripened on the cross; only a 
gratefully-loving heart will be cleansed from its sins by the blood of Christ; 
only a gratefully-loving heart will not be forsaken by Jesus in temptations, 
in trials, in crosses, and in sufferings ; — yea, my dear brethren, will never 
be forsaken, neither in life, nor in death, nor in the awful hour of judg- 
ment. Amen. - . 

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